Industry advocates are officially launching an online source for collaboration, news and resources available to all staff members who perform infection prevention and control (IPC) duties in long-term care facilities.
The National Infection Prevention Forum is part of a collaboration between the American Health Care Association and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). Housed on the AHCA/NCAL website, it is a place to get IPC questions answered; participate in expert-led facilitated discussions; share best practices and lessons learned; and find rapidly disseminated updates about infections in LTC from federal agencies, AHCA announced Thursday.
All providers who perform IPC functions in long-term care are eligible to sign up, regardless of their membership in AHCA or APIC.
Hub for sharing timely information
The forum platform, which is funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Project Firstline, was inspired in part by a historic lack of collaboration on infection prevention and control in LTC that was highlighted by pandemic troubles, the two organizations said.
“One of the many takeaways from the COVID-19 pandemic was the need for a designated place to obtain key information from public health officials to help protect the lives of the residents and staff in long-term care settings,” David Gifford, MD, chief medical officer at AHCA/NCAL said in a statement. “The forum addresses this need and better prepares us for the next public health threat.”
The forum will also serve as a step toward the larger goal of building a cohesive network of IPC practitioners in long-term care, added Devin Jopp, EdD, MS, CEO of APIC.
“We’re hoping that clinicians and administration will take these tools and make sure that we’re building infection-safe communities,” he told McKnight’s Clinical Daily.
Collaboration, cohesiveness
“The purpose of this forum is to help these practitioners understand that they’re not alone and that they have access [to these resources],” Jopp added. This is particularly important in long-term care facilities, many of which are short on resources, he noted.
“One of the key aims is to build a cohesive network of infection prevention practitioners that can grow as a group along with their body of knowledge,” Jopp said. The next steps are improved training, proper staffing and conducting surveillance to gather data. The forum “is important work that is hopefully part of larger things to com.”
The ‘missing link’
This sort of forum has worked well for IPC practitioners in other healthcare settings, such as critical care hospitals and surgical care centers, for example, Jopp told McKnight’s. “When IPs can talk to each other across organizational boundaries, it gives them a sense of support and camaraderie,” he noted.
APIC is collaborating with AHCA in a variety of projects with the goals of creating a larger community of dedicated infection preventionists and other workers who conduct well-trained, evidence-based IPC functions in facilities. And the forum is just the start, providing the “missing link” of connection, he added.
To join the LTC National Infection Prevention Forum, interested parties can follow a step-by-step guide provided by AHCA.
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