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New Provider Alert: Increase in C. auris cases
Washington Department of Health has issued a Provider Alert regarding an increase in locally acquired Candida auris (C. auris) cases in 2024. Healthcare-associated transmission is suspected for most cases; other isolated cases have been identified with no obvious source suggesting undetected transmission in Washington. We urge providers and facilities to improve infection prevention and control programs to prevent transmission of C. auris. Please review the full alert here for more information on actions to take. Contact the MDRO team with questions.
To ensure you receive future Provider Alerts, email us and request to be added to the distribution list.
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Infection Prevention and Control |
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IPChat Schedule Update
The IPChat schedule will change starting in August 2024. IPChat sessions will reduce from twice monthly to just one session a month. This monthly session will occur every third Tuesday at 11am. The session format will remain the same. We know you find IPChat a valuable resource for learning and sharing IP topics and experiences and we are grateful that we can continue to provide this venue. The updated flyer provides more information. Please email us with any questions you have.
Quarter 2 ICAR Metrics
Schedule your next ICAR!
Visit our website to schedule your next Infection Prevention and Control support service through our ICAR button!
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Antimicrobial Stewardship |
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Resources for All Antimicrobial Stewards
Current Trends & Future Opportunities in Antimicrobial Stewardship through Diagnostic Innovations: Online Roundtable – Free CE available for pharmacists, physicians, and nurses!
The Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) is hosting a webinar that will explore the rapidly expanding landscape of diagnostic technologies that provide antimicrobial stewards and infection preventionists with improved tools to identify organisms and their susceptibilities to antimicrobials. This is the third webinar in a three-part series and will feature past presenters and other experts in AMR in a moderated panel with time for live questions and answers from the audience. Learn more and register today!
Free Antibiotic Use Print Materials!
CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion offers FREE patient and healthcare professional (HCP) resources for Be Antibiotics Aware. Order free print materials on CDC Publications On Demand by typing “Antibiotic Use” in the "Keyword or PubID” box and clicking “Apply,” or by calling 1-800-CDC-INFO.
Acute Care Stewardship Resources
Join the NHSN Antibiotic Use (AU) User’s Group
Acute Care Hospitals in Washington are invited to join DOH’s NHSN AU User's Group, which aims to support hospitals in utilizing their NHSN AU data effectively. Participants will gain valuable insights into generating reports in NHSN, analyzing and interpreting antimicrobial use data, and ultimately improving antimicrobial stewardship practices within their facilities. Facilities participating in the User’s Group are granted access to an interactive dashboard for benchmarking data against other hospitals, facilitating continuous quality improvement efforts. Register today!
New Publication from WA DOH's Stewardship Team - A Critical Contrast: Washington State’s Case for Critical Access Hospital Benchmarks
Limited data exist to guide antibiotic stewardship in critical access hospitals, making it important to leverage all available sources. In this Letter to the Editor, our team analyzed select Washington State-specific 2022 NHSN Annual Hospital Survey data to assess the usefulness of a stratified facility average for this hospital type. Analyzing these data in this manner can help public health incorporate health equity goals into stewardship support strategies.
New from CDC: Priorities for Hospital Core Element Implementation
To continue enhancing hospital antibiotic stewardship programs, CDC has released Priorities for Hospital Core Element Implementation (Priorities) in 2022 to help enhance the quality and impact of existing antibiotic stewardship programs.
Long-Term Care Stewardship Resources
Join the Skilled Nursing Facility Antimicrobial Stewardship (SNF AMS) Collaborative!
Enhance your antimicrobial stewardship expertise and skills through WA DOH’s SNF AMS Collaborative. The collaborative will run from September 2024 – May 2025, and will consist of monthly 45-min sessions. Each session will include a concise presentation, hands-on activities, and Q&A. Benefits of participation include improved antibiotic use and survey readiness. Earn a certificate upon completion, demonstrating your enhanced stewardship expertise. Learn more and register today!
Free Patient Communication CE for Nurses and Medical Assistants
This activity is designed to improve communication skills around antibiotic use to help avoid inappropriate prescribing. The activity offers free CE credits for both nurses and medical assistants and is based on the CDC’s 4-part Communication Strategy.
Urine PCR Guidance Document for Long-Term Care Facilities
Urine polymerase chain reaction-based (PCR) laboratory testing has been promoted to clinicians as an alternative method of obtaining urine cultures. Due to the high prevalence and overuse of antibiotics for asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) in the post-acute and long-term care population, guidance on the topic of PCR urine testing is provided to ensure safety.
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Healthcare Worker (HCW) Influenza Vaccination in Skilled Nursing Facilities
Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are required to report influenza summary data to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN). This includes documented vaccinations, contraindications, and informed declination rates for all employees, volunteers, and contracted and licensed independent providers. The graphs below show HCW vaccination rates in SNFs. These vaccination data should be interpreted with caution, as they are self-reported and unvalidated.
Percent of HCWS who Received Flu Vaccine during the Past Two Flu Seasons
The graphs below show the overall HCW influenza vaccination rate in SNFs during the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 flu seasons.
 The vaccination rate for all HCWs in SNFs was slightly lower for the 2023/2024 flu season than the 2022/2023 flu season. There were also slightly more HCWs during the 2023/2024 flu season (25,328 in 2022/2023 compared to 28,130 in 2023/2024).
Percent of Different HCW Types who Received Flu Vaccine in SNFs
The graph below shows vaccination rates broken down by HCW type. This includes Adult Students/Trainees and Volunteers, Employees, and Licensed Independent Providers.
 Vaccination rates were highest in the Adult Students/Trainees and Volunteers, with a 66% vaccination rate among the 1,234 trainees and volunteers. Rates were lowest among all SNF employees, which make up the vast majority of total HCWs. Among the total 25,706 employees, there was a 40.8% vaccination rate.
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Join Our Next Cohort of Infection Prevention (IP) Champions!
Are you or do you know an IP with 0-4 years of experience? Are you/they working at a Local Health Jurisdiction (LHJ) or in acute care? Apply to join our next cohort of IP Champions!
IP Champions is a year-long program building IP competency for new professionals to the HAI/AR and IP field. This program is for HAI/AR and IP professionals in LHJs and acute care settings.
Applications for our fourth cohort of IP Champions are now open until August 2nd, 2024. Classes will start the second week of September and run through August 2025.
Have questions? Check out our flyer and FAQ!
Send an email with any additional questions.
Go to our website for more WA Project Firstline information and resources!
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National Healthcare and Safety Network (NHSN) |
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Bimonthly NHSN User Group for Hospitals
Join us for the NHSN Hospital User Group calls. We will host these calls every other month. Please register in advance for this call series. Upcoming meetings are as follows.
- Sep 10, 2024 10:30 AM
- Nov 12, 2024 10:30 AM
Please reach out to the NHSN Epi Team if you have any questions or have topic ideas for any of the calls.
Monthly Long-Term Care NHSN User Group
You are invited to register for the monthly NHSN skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) forum to share and, collaborate, improve reporting accuracy, and increase user knowledge. Calls are scheduled for the second Thursday of the month, 11:00 a.m. –noon. Upcoming meetings are as follows:
- August 8, 2024
- September 12, 2024
- October 10, 2024
- November 14, 2024
Please reach out to the NHSN Epi Team for more information.
NHSN Support Services for SNFs
For a more comprehensive list of NHSN support options the HAI Epi Team can provide to skilled nursing facilities, see the NHSN Support and Technical Assistance for Skilled Nursing Facilities flyer.
NHSN Reporting Updates and Trainings
COVID-19 Vaccination Up-To-Date Definition
The Up-to-Date Definition effective in NHSN on April 1, 2024, for reporting weekly resident and staff COVID-19 vaccinations, will extend for all settings now through September 29, 2024:
Individuals aged 65 years and older are up to date when they have received 2 doses of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine or received 1 dose of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine in the past 4 months.
Individuals aged less than 65 years continue to be up to date when they have received 1 dose of the updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) will host live and on-demand trainings:
2024 NHSN Virtual Post-Acute Care Training: Long-term Care Component, Dialysis Component, and Healthcare Personnel Safety (Healthcare Personnel Vaccination) Surveillance and Analytics on July 23 – 25, 2024.
This training is intended for NHSN users of the Long-term Care Facility Component. the Dialysis Component, and Healthcare Personnel Safety in NHSN.
The virtual training event will feature live presentations, pre-recorded training videos for self-paced viewing, and opportunities for Q&A.
More information is available. Register today!
NHSN Epidemiology Email
The NHSN Epidemiology Team has a dedicated inbox. Please email the EPI team for any NHSN related questions, issues, or concerns. This will allow our team to respond to your message in a timely manner.
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Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) |
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Puget Sound Chapter
The Puget Sound Region APIC chapter meets on the fourth Thursday of every month from noon to 2:00 p.m.
- We review important legislative updates, IPC news, and educational opportunities.
- Journal club and round table discussions keep IPs up-to-date on recent activity in the IPC field, as well as connect with local IPs.
Register in advance for meetings. Links to registration sites can be found on our social media and website a few weeks prior.
APIC Podcasts:
AJIC Monthly Podcast
New Episode:
Recent Episodes:
Tune in the first Thursday of each month for new episodes.
APIC Monthly 5 Second Rule Podcast
Recent Episodes:
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WA DOH Influenza Update for Week 24 now available!
The weekly summary is available.
State Summary
- Influenza-like illness activity was minimal during week 24.
- To date,126 lab-confirmed influenza deaths have been reported for the 2023-2024 season.
- To date, 89 influenza-like illness outbreaks in long term care facilities have been reported for the 2023-2024 season.
- During week 24, 1 percent of visits among Influenza-like Illness Network (ILINet) participants were for influenza-like illness, which was below the baseline of 1.9 percent.
- During week 24, 2.5 percent of specimens tested by WHO and NREVSS collaborating laboratories in Washington were positive for influenza.
- Influenza A and Influenza B were reported to the ILINet surveillance system during week 24.
The Washington State Department of Health Influenza Update reports will be produced monthly for weeks 21-39 this summer and will resume a weekly reporting cadence beginning on week 40 this fall.
Historic influenza reports
DOH creates influenza reports for healthcare providers and public health including:
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 Emergency Preparedness Discussion
The Northwest Healthcare Response Network (NWHRN) would like to invite Long-Term Care Providers to participate in a conversation with them and their long-term care advisory group on July 24, 2024, about emergency preparedness.
Registration is open to all NH, ALF, AFH, ESF, ICF/IID, and Supportive Living Providers. More information is available.
Emergency Rules Memorialized in CR-103P Permanent Rulemaking
A Dear Provider Letter is available.
 Update on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (H5N1) Virus for Clinicians and Healthcare Centers
During this COCA Call, presenters will give an update on the current outbreak in the United States and current CDC surveillance and monitoring efforts. They will also provide information for clinicians on testing, using antivirals, and infection prevention and control recommendations.
CDC Recommends Updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 and Flu Vaccines for Fall/Winter Virus Season
Additional information about the updated guidance is available.
Less is More: Reducing Device Days and HAIs
In this Stories of Care episode, host Megan Srinivas, MD, MPH is joined by Patricia Posa, RN, BSN, the quality and safety program manager for University of Michigan Health, in a conversation about hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), infection prevention, and nurse driven protocols. Discussion topics include the importance of teamwork and collaboration to reduce HAIs and improve patient outcomes, how to establish nurse driven protocols, and the importance of standardized processes in patient care.
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