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Training Infection Prevention through Simulation (TIPS) Virtual Course
Tuesdays: January 21st - February 25th, 10 am PST (1 pm EST)
This course consists of six weekly, 1.5 hour long virtual classes covering many topics including content around adult learning principles, introduction to simulation and gamification, a framework and time to work on your own IPC educational offerings, and more!
Healthcare Can Check Readiness for Bird Flu Spread
A manuscript published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology on December 5th, 2025, outlines a systematic approach for healthcare facilities to prepare to identify, confirm and safely manage highly pathogenic avian influenza (bird flu) in healthcare settings.
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Infection preventionists’ current and preferred training strategies and tools
This AJIC study aims to describe the frequency with which IPs provide IPC training to health care workers, the approaches and methods used for training, and to better understand which technologies and resources they believe are needed to empower frontline health care workers to take IPC action. Secondary aims were to describe training preferences as reported by IP position, certification, formal education, years of experience, and geographic location of practice
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Infection Prevention and Control |
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Antimicrobial Stewardship |
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Resources for All Antimicrobial Stewards
New! Penicillin Allergy Management Educational Module from The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
Penicillin allergy labels present a barrier to optimal antibiotic prescribing. In this interactive course, learners will gain experience in penicillin allergy history taking, risk assessment using validated instruments, penicillin allergy testing, and delabeling.
CE credit is offered for physicians, pharmacists, and advanced practice providers. Register for this course today!
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!
Reminder – NHSN Patient Safety Annual Hospital Survey is due March 1st!
We encourage stewards to be involved in the completion of the annual survey so they can get credit for all their hard work! You can access the questions (q. 41-52), and send your answers to your NHSN facility administrator. If you have questions about how to answer the questions check out the instructions.
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 Stewardship Resources for Consultant Pharmacists
WA DOH is offering to provide the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists' Antimicrobial Stewardship Toolkit for free to consultant pharmacists providing services at long-term care facilities in Washington State. The toolkit offers practical guidance for starting, growing, and maintaining an antimicrobial program, ensuring compliance with CMS Long-Term Care regulations. Learn more and register today!
Reminder – NHSN Long-term Care Facility Annual Facility Survey is due March 1st!
The WADOH antimicrobial stewardship team uses the survey results to find and advocate for where resources are necessary. The survey can be completed in the survey tab and instructions can be found here.
Outpatient Stewardship Resources
New! Playbook for New Infection Preventionists in Outpatient Settings
The intent of this Playbook is to provide a quick reference for Infection Preventionists (IPs) in Washington state who are new to working in the outpatient setting. Chapter 7 offers practical suggestions for how new IPs can be involved in stewardship.
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HAI Epidemiology Outbreaks – 2024 in Review
The WA DOH HAI Epidemiology Outbreak Investigation Team routinely provides consultations and conducts investigations for suspected and confirmed healthcare-associated infections and outbreaks. Consultations are provided to other programs within DOH, LHJs, and healthcare facilities when DOH HAI Epidemiology involvement is minimal or healthcare-associated transmission is ruled out. Investigations involve a heightened level of HAI Epidemiology participation, including onsite visits to impacted facilities, remote infection prevention and control assessments, patient notification or call for cases, data analyses, and/or environmental sampling.
The data below show a summary of the consultations and investigations conducted by the HAI Epidemiology team in 2024.
Total Consultations and Investigations by Setting Type
 * One investigation included more than one setting type.
This graph shows the number of consultations and investigations conducted by the HAI Epidemiology team, broken down by the healthcare facility type. The bars are stacked to show the total number of consultations and investigations, and split by color to show the number of consultations and investigations separately.
In 2024, the HAI Epi Team conducted 7 total consultations and 14 investigations. This was a decrease from the previous year when there were 13 total consultations and 19 investigations. The most consultations and investigations were conducted in acute care hospitals (ACH), with 52% (11 of 21) of all HAI Epidemiology involvement with an ACH. Skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) had fewer consultations and investigations in 2024. In SNFs, there were only three investigations in 2024, but 16 total consultations and investigations in 2023.
Primary Organism in Investigations by Setting Type
 This table shows the primary organism during investigations, separated by healthcare setting type. Across all setting types, Legionella species were the most common organism in investigations, with 6 investigations in 4 different healthcare setting types. No organism was identified in 5 investigations, which occurs in drug diversion or infection control breach investigations where the potential for disease transmission is found but no organism or outbreak are identified.
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New Module Now Live!
The PFL “Injection Safety” module is now available to all. Injection safety is vital to health care and preventing HAIs. This module is perfect for training staff as it is concise, interactive, and easily accessible (mobile friendly with start/stop/return ability). At the end of our Injection Safety module, a pocket aid is provided to serve as a reminder after the course.
Sign up now and complete this free module!
Don't forget about our other resources!
Project Firstline offers several training and education opportunities to help you out during onboarding, annual training, and continuing education! See how one of the following programs can help you out today!
Sign up for our Project Firstline Quarterly Newsletter to stay up to date on the latest information!
Interactive online training modules: Available for CE/CNEs at no cost! Topics range from hand hygiene, respiratory droplets, to enhanced barrier precautions.
Text Messages: Short, weekly text messages on important infection prevention topics. Text “JoinWAIPC” to 59309.
Podcasts: Short podcast episodes ranging from basic infection prevention topics to IP in different settings to an antimicrobial stewardship mini-series.
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.
- Mar 11, 2025, at 10:30 AM
- May 13, 2025 at 10:30AM
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
Please note there is a new Zoom Meeting registration link for 2025 monthly calls and previous registrants will need to re-register.
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:
- Feb 13, 2025
- Mar 13, 2025
- Apr 10, 2025
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
NHSN LTCF Component: Respiratory Pathogens and Vaccination Updates
Up-to-Date definition changes for quarter 1 2025 now include:
Individuals aged 65 years and older and those who are moderately or severely immunocompromised are up to date when they have received 2 doses of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine or received 1 dose of the 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine in the past 6 months.
Individuals younger than 65 years, are still considered up to date with 1 dose of the vaccine.
The up-to-date definition for each quarter can be found here: Understanding Key Terms and Up to Date Vaccination.
Effective with reporting week of 1/6/25-1/12/25, LTCFs are:
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Required to report COVID-19, influenza, and RSV cases, hospitalizations and vaccination status weekly for residents.
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Required to report HCP COVID-19 vaccination data for one week per month, due on a quarterly basis, as part of a CMS Quality Reporting Program.
Review LTCF training slides for more details.
Annual HCP Influenza Vaccination Summary Data Requirement
Continue to collect cumulative influenza vaccination status for all staff employed during the 2024-2025 influenza season (Oct 1- Mar 31).
Submit one data form by May 15, 2025 deadline in the Healthcare Personnel Safety (HPS) Component.
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 52 now available!
The weekly summary is available.
State Summary
- Influenza-like illness activity was very high during week 52.
- To date, 11 lab-confirmed influenza deaths have been reported for the 2024-2025 season.
- To date, 32 influenza-like illness outbreaks in long term care facilities have been reported for the 2024-2025 season.
- During week 52, 6.6 percent of visits among Influenza-like Illness Network (ILINet) participants were for influenza-like illness, which was above the baseline of 2.1 percent.
- During week 52, 18.2 percent of specimens tested by WHO (World Health Organization) and NREVSS (National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System) collaborating laboratories in Washington were positive for influenza.
- Influenza A and Influenza B were reported to the ILINet surveillance system during week 52.
Historic influenza reports
DOH creates influenza reports for healthcare providers and public health including:
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Safe Healthcare Blog
In a new blog post, Exploring the Microbiome as a Way to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance, Colleen S. Kraft, MD, MSc, highlights the critical role of the gut microbiome for patients taking antibiotics. As a physician and microbiologist, Dr. Kraft shares insights from her work with colleagues to establish Emory’s Microbiota Enrichment Program. The program leverages fecal microbiota transplants (FMT) as a treatment for recurrent C. diff infections.
Penicillin Allergy Management Course
SHEA and CDC have launched a new course, “Penicillin Allergy Management - Removing Barriers to Optimal Antibiotic Prescribing.” In this course, learners will gain experience in penicillin allergy history taking, risk assessment using validated instruments, penicillin allergy testing, and de-labeling. This course provides 2 hours of complementary CE for physicians and pharmacists, regardless of SHEA membership.
Introductory Training on MDRO Prevention & Response Activities
All three webinar recordings from the “Introduction to MDRO Prevention & Response Activities” training series are now posted to SharePoint. If you haven’t yet, sign up for the training mailing list to be notified of training opportunities. Questions? Please contact the CDC HAIAR team.
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Identification and Characterization of Vancomycin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus CC45/USA600, North Carolina, USA, 2021
Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA) is a rare but serious public health concern. In this article, researchers describe a VRSA case in North Carolina, USA. The isolate from the case belonged to the USA600 lineage and clonal complex 45. No transmission was identified. Confirmed VRSA cases should include a thorough investigation and public health response.
Elimination of an outbreak of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in a burn unit
This brief report describes an outbreak in a burn unit where 3 patients were identified as being colonized or infected with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. A multifaceted approach and rapid implementation of infection prevention measures were effective in identification and removal of potential environmental reservoirs resulting in the prevention of further transmission.
Leveraging local public health to advance antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) implementation and mitigate antimicrobial resistance (AMR): a scoping review
In this article, researchers explore the role of local public health organizations in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance.
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