New Infection Preventionist Guidance

For Acute Care Hospitals and Long-Term Care Facilities

The Acute Communicable Diseases Team from the Division of Communicable Disease and Prevention works closely with Alameda healthcare facilities to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases.

We encourage you to join the following two monthly Microsoft Teams calls by sending an email to Paulyn Bello (Paulyn.Bello@acgov.org) requesting an email invitation:

1. Public Health and Provider Calls
   Held monthly on the third Thursday of the month from 12pm – 1pm.
   
   The objectives of these calls are to:
   • Inform clinicians regarding infectious diseases topics that public health staff are working on
   • Promote collaboration between clinicians and public health staff; and
   • Increase awareness among public health staff regarding initiatives clinical colleagues are implementing regarding diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of infectious diseases
2. Multidrug Resistant Organism (MDRO) Collaborative Calls
   Held on the last Thursday of the month from 12pm – 1pm.
   
   The objectives of these calls are to:
   • Foster open dialogue among the Alameda County healthcare continuum
   • Share experiences around infection control
   • Foster peer-to-peer learning and partnerships
   • Build partnership with Alameda County Public Health Department beyond outbreak management
   • Highlight successes and challenges on infection control and prevention efforts
   • Share data and resources to support efforts as available

Resource List

As a resource list for new Infection Preventionists we recommend reviewing the following:

• Alameda County Public Health Department’s Health Officer Order requiring reporting of CRE and isolate submittal
• Interfacility Transfer Form that is required for patients/residents with Carbapenem Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) colonization/infection but should be used for all patient/resident transfers
• CDPH Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) Quicksheet
• CDPH Carbapenemase-Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CP-CRE): Updated Laboratory Reporting Requirements and Recommendations for Healthcare: Slides and recorded webinar  Of note, this does not supercede Alameda’s Health Officer Order
• CDPH Prevention of Candida auris and Other Novel Multidrug-resistant Organisms in Healthcare Facilities: Slides and recorded webinar
• Alameda County Public Health Department’s Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Health Advisory
• CDPH Candida auris Quicksheet
• CDPH Enhanced Standard Precautions for Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), 2022
• Alameda County Public Health Department’s Emergence of Candida auris in Healthcare Facilities in Northern California and Increase in Incidence of Carbapenemase-Producing Organisms
• CDPH Cohorting Guidance for Residents Infected or Colonized with MDROs for SNFs, 2023
• CDPH Adherance Monitoring Tools

Additional Training Resources

• CDPH-HAI Program
• Learn About Infection Control in Health Care | Project Firstline | CDC
• Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training Course - CDC TRAIN - an affiliate of the TRAIN Learning Network powered by the Public Health Foundation
• Infection Prevention Online Course Training for SNFs (ca.gov)
• Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG): Training resources for Infection Prevention

Please reach out to acutecd@acgov.org to introduce yourself and ensure we have your contact information in the event that we need to reach you and your healthcare facility.

We look forward to working with you to limit the development and transmission of all communicable diseases in Alameda County.