Health Care-Associated Infections

The Health Care-Associated Infection (HAI) program aims to support facilities with implementing infection prevention and control (IPC) best practices and to assist in improving and maintaining IPC programs. This support is provided by a collaborative team of epidemiologists, infection preventionists, and educators who are not only subject matter experts in the field of infection prevention, but also the various program components. The program accomplishes this through a variety of means including providing onsite Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) consultation and education sessions to facilities in Duval County.

Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) Consultation

We provide free, non-regulatory Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) consultations to long term care, dental, dialysis, and other health care and congregate living settings.

Our team works closely with the facility to customize the consultation to assess infection prevention strengths and opportunities on a variety of IPC topics and any areas of concern the facility has identified.

Each interaction is focused on education and offers the most up-to-date infection prevention resources. Visits are typically conducted on-site, but virtual options may be available as well.

ICAR Steps

1. Schedule an ICAR. An HAI team member will reach out to offer services or your facility can request an ICAR.
2. Prepare for ICAR consultation. The HAI team internally prepares for the visit and may conduct a virtual pre-consultation with the facility.
3. Conduct an ICAR consultation. The HAI team will visit your facility to conduct interviews and direct observations.
4. Provide feedback. An onsite debrief and post-visit emails will discuss identified gas, evidence-based recommendations and resources.
5. Implementation. Your facility will implement recommendations as appropriate.
6. Follow-up. The HAI team will check in for feedback on implementation and assist with additional needs.

Please note: We are not inspectors or surveyors, so this is not a licensing or certification visit, but an opportunity to share information and provide consultation.

Outbreak Response

The HAI team works in conjunction with the epidemiology team to provide outbreak response within facilities. Outbreak investigations in health care settings follow many of the same common steps as community-based outbreaks. The differences may be found in the composition of teams (including quality, clinical, administration, laboratory, and other stakeholders of the facility), the methods of data collection relevant to the specific infection, and the order of the steps.

Outbreak response may include tools such as the following to prevent the spread of the organism:

• Onsite ICAR
• Point Prevalence Screening
• Laboratory testing/surveillance

Education

The HAI team also provides onsite and virtual education sessions to facilities on a variety of infection prevention and control topics. These education sessions can be tailored to clinical/non-clinical staff, housekeeping staff, residents/patients or families. Some frequently requested topics include:

• General practices (hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, isolation precautions, environmental services, antibiotic stewardship)
• Specific practices (wound care, trach care, dialysis)
• Specific organisms (candida auris, multi-drug resistant organisms, respiratory illnesses)

Resources

• Health Care-Associated Infections
• Infection Control Assessment Tools
• Long-term Care Facilities
• Prevention Strategy
• Project Firstline Infection Control Training