Infection Prevention and Control General Guidance

HCQC's infection prevention and control (IPC) team is available for consultations and risk assessment; onsite technical support; outbreak support; and questions about infection prevention and control issues. The team has also complied general resources, facility type-specific resources and IPC training for unlicensed caregivers, as linked below. Regarding any of the services listed above, send an email to hcqcipcteam@health.nv.gov.

• Residential facilities for groups (assisted living)
• Hospitals
• Skilled nursing facilities
• Unlicensed caregiver training

Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee

Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) is a federal advisory committee appointed to provide advice and guidance to DHHS and CDC regarding the practice of infection control and prevention.

• HICPAC web page

CDC Infection Prevention and Control

This site from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention includes an overview of how infections spread, ways to prevent the spread of infections, and more detailed recommendations by type of healthcare setting.

• Infection Control in Health Care Facilities
• Guidelines and Guidance Library
• Precautions
  • Standard Precautions for All Patient Care
  • Transmission-Based Precautions
  • Guideline for Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings (2007)
  • Isolation Precautions Print Signage
  • Type and Duration of Precautions Recommended for Selected Infections and Conditions – Appendix A

Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Implementation Guides provide practical, evidence-based strategies for surveillance and the elimination of infection. Each guide includes online tools and resources. (To download the free guides, you are required to provide contact information.)

• All APIC Implementation Guides
• The above link includes the following infection prevention guides:
  • Guide to Preventing Central-Line Associated Bloodstream Infections
  • Guide to Hand Hygiene Programs for Infection Prevention (2015)
  • Guide to Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (2014)
  • Guide to Preventing Clostridium difficile Infections (2013)
  • Guide to the Elimination of Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Transmission in Healthcare Settings (2010)
  • Guide to the Elimination of MRSA in the Long-Term Care Facility (2009)

Hand Hygiene

• AORN - Association of periOperative Registered Nurses
  • Log-in required to access the link above.
• CDC - Hand Hygiene Guidance
• World Health Organization (WHO)
  • Hand Hygiene Training Tools
  • WHO guidelines on hand hygiene in health care
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Resources
  • Patient's Guide - Hand hygiene is the #1 way to prevent the spread of infections
  • Handwashing posters
  • Handwashing Fact Sheets
  • Handwashing Podcasts
• APIC Toolkit for Patient Hand Hygiene

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Centers for Disease Control
  • Sequence for Putting On Personal Protective Equipment
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Coaching and Training Frontline Health Care Professionals
  • (slideshow)
  • Healthcare Respiratory Protection Resources | NPPTL | NIOSH | CDC
• OSHA - Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  • Fact Sheet - Personal Protective Equipment
  • Instruction - Respiratory Protection Program Guidelines
  • Laws & Regulations – 1910 Subpart I – Personal Protective Equipment
  • Laws & Regulations – 1910.134 – Respiratory Protection
  • Safety and Health Topics – Personal Protective Equipment
  • Safety and Health Topics – Respiratory Protection – General Guidance

Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette in Healthcare Settings

• Centers for Disease Control
  • Respiratory Hygiene/Cough Etiquette in Healthcare Settings

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

• Centers for Disease Control
  • Guideline for Prevention of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections
  • TAP Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) Implementation Guide: Links to Example Resources
  • Strategies to Prevent Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections in Acute Care Hospitals: 2014 Update
  • (The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America - icpsne.org)

Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection

• Central Line-associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI) | HAI | CDC
• Strategies to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infections in acute-care hospitals: 2022 Update
  • (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America)

Prevention of Ventilator-Associated Event (VAE)

• Ventilator-associated Pneumonia (VAP)
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
• Strategies to Prevent Infections in Acute Care Hospitals – Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP)
  • (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America)

Prevention of Surgical Site Infection (SSI)

• Guideline for Prevention of Surgical Site Infection (2017)

Management of Multidrug-Resistant Organisms

• Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) Management
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
• Candida auris
  • Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention and Control - Training & Education
  • CDC Resources
  • Candida auris playbook - APIC Emerging Infectious Diseases Task Force
• Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
  • CDC - Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE)
  • Healthcare Facilities: Information about CRE
  • (Includes CDC CRE Toolkit)
  • Guidance for Control of Infections with Carbapenem-Resistant or Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Acute Care Facilities
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
  • Nevada Healthcare-Associated Infection CRE information
• Clostridiodes difficile Infection
  • Information for Healthcare Professionals about C. diff
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
  • C. diff Guidelines and Prevention Resources
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
  • FAQs for Clinicians about C. diff
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
  • Strategies to Prevent Clostridioides difficile Infection in Acute Care Facilities
  • (Centers for Disease Control)
  • ompendium of Strategies to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections in Acute Care Hospitals
  • (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America)

Mycobacterium tuberculosis

• Nevada Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention, Control and Elimination Program
  • Email Susan McElhany, DMD, Nevada TB Controller
• CDC Mycobacterium Tuberculosis resources
  • FAQs for Health Care Personnel
  • Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings, 2005
  • Resources for TB Screening and Testing of Health Care Personnel
  • TB 101 for Health Care Workers
  • (online course)
  • TB Screening and Testing of Health Care Personnel

Legionella/Legionnaire's Disease (Water Management)

• Centers for Disease Control resources
  • Legionella (Legionnaires' Disease and Pontiac Fever)
  • Healthcare Facility Water Management Program Checklist
  • Toolkit: Developing a Water Management Program to Reduce Legionella Growth and Spread in Buildings
  • Water Infection Control Risk Assessment (WICRA) for Healthcare Settings
  • Healthcare Water Management Program Frequently Asked Questions
  • Requirement to Reduce Legionella Risk in Healthcare Facility Water Systems to Prevent Cases and Outbreaks of Legionnaires’ Disease (LD)
  • QSO-17-30- Hospitals/CAHs/NHs (revised 07-06-2018)

Injection Safety

• Centers for Disease Control resources
  • Injection Safety
  • Injection Safety Checklist
  • One & Only Campaign
  • Workbook for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating a Sharps Injury Prevention Program

Point-of-Care Testing

• Centers for Disease Control resources
  • CDC Clinical Reminder: Insulin Pens Must Never Be Used for More than One Person
  • Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding Assisted Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration
  • Infection Prevention during Blood Glucose Monitoring and Insulin Administration

Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection

• Non-Critical Is Critical - Strategies to Mitigate Cross Contamination of Non-critical Medical Devices
  • (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology)
• Centers for Disease Control
  • Disinfection and Sterilization
  • Environmental Infection Control Guidelines
  • Best Practices for Cleaning and Disinfection in Healthcare Facilities

Device Reprocessing

• Centers for Disease Control
  • Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities, 2008 (Update: May 2019)
  • Essential Elements of a Reprocessing Program for Flexible Endoscopes
  • (Recommendations of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee - HICPAC)
  • Infection Control – Guidelines for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities (2008)

Construction Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA)

• Using the Health Care Physical Environment to Prevent and Control Infection
  • A project by The Health Research & Educational Trust of the American Hospital Association, American Society for Health Care Engineering, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Society of Hospital Medicine and the University of Michigan
• Infection Control Risk Assessment 2.0 (ICRA 2.0)

General vaccine and immunization resources

• Recommendations from Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
• Centers for Disease Control resources
  • Epidemiology and Prevention of Vaccine-Preventable Diseases – The Pink Book
  • Influenza Vaccination of Health-Care Personnel
  • Vaccine and Immunization Schedules

Educational opportunities

• Centers for Disease Control
  • Infection control training and education resources
  • STRIVE Infection Control Training
  • States Targeting Reduction in Infections via Engagement
  • Project Firstline Infection Control Training
  • EVS and the Battle Against Infection: a Graphic Novel
  • (includes an online course)

Health Care Personnel

• Centers for Disease Control
  • Infection Control in Healthcare Personnel: Infrastructure and Routine Practices for Occupational Infection Prevention and Control Services
  • Vaccine recommendations (including recommendations by life event, job and travel)
• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
  • Standard 1910.1030 - Bloodborne pathogens.
  • OSHA Fact Sheet - Bloodborne Pathogens Standard
  • Quick Reference Guide to the Bloodborne Pathogens Standard