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Infection Prevention Resources

The information and resources contained in this page are tailored for Infection Preventionists (IPs) working in long-term care facilities (LTCFs), but may also be useful for other clinical and non-clinical personnel.

Infection Prevention Resources

What is Infection Prevention?

Infection prevention is a shared responsibility that involves a variety of measures to reduce the risk of spreading infections. It is a practical, evidence-based approach preventing patients and health workers from being harmed by avoidable infections.

News/Updates Bulletin

  • CCDPH Annual Infection Prevention Conference – Wednesday, June 4, 2025 (Save the Date)
  • CCDPH/DuPage County Infection Prevention Roundtable – April 30, 2025 (No registration required, Join Teams Meeting )
  • IDPH LTC webinar series – March 21, 2025 (Register Here )
  • IDPH LTC webinar series – April 4, 2025 (Register Here )
  • IDPH Infectious Disease Conference, April 15 and 16, 2025 (Register Here )

Training and Resources for Infection Preventionists

Training Courses for IPs

  • Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training Course – CDC TRAIN – This course will provide IPC training for individuals responsible for IPC programs in nursing homes so they can effectively implement their programs and ensure adherence to recommended practices by front-line staff. The course will include information about the core activities of an effective IPC program, with a detailed explanation of recommended IPC practices to prevent pathogen transmission and reduce healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic resistance in nursing homes.
  • Project Firstline Infection Control Training | CDC – Project Firstline offers educational resources in various formats to meet the diverse learning needs and preferences of the healthcare workforce. Resources are designed to empower and enable healthcare workers to think critically about infection control, using adult learning principles, educational best practices, CDC recommendations, and the science that informs them.
  • CDC/STRIVE Infection Control Training | Infection Control | CDC – Courses address both the technical and foundational elements of healthcare-associated infections and prevention.

Tools and Other IPC resources

Professional Organizations

Certification

Having a certification distinguishes you as an expert in ICP. Two certifications are available. Either certification is obtained by taking a test, administered by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC). Below are descriptions of both with links to testing resources:

  • CIC – The Certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology (CIC) is the highest certification an IP can earn, much like a board certification.
  • LTC-CIP – IPs working in LTCF should obtain a Long-Term Care Certification in Infection Prevention: LTC-IP, this certification provides a standardized measure of the basic knowledge, skills and abilities expected of professionals working in the field. Prepare for your Long-Term Care Certification in Infection Prevention (LTC-CIP) Exam. APIC offers courses and sells textbooks from which to study. View LTC-CIP APIC Exam Preparation Resources .

CMS 483.80 Infection Control Rules and Regulations

Facilities must establish and maintain an infection prevention and control program designed to provide a safe, sanitary and comfortable environment and to help prevent the development and transmission of communicable diseases and infections.

IDPH Web Portal (illinois.gov)

Registration is required for access. To register for a portal account, visit:
Find all your public health-related information at one secure site and join online communities to share files, discussions, calendars and more. Registration is required for access. To register for a portal account, visit: IDPH Web Portal Terms and Conditions (illinois.gov)

Through the IDPH Web Portal, you can also access web-based applications and other resources, including:

  • Extensively Drug-Resistant Organisms (XDRO) Registry – The XDRO Registry is an IPC tool created with the purpose to improve surveillance of XDRO and improve inter-facility communications.
  • Health Alert Network (Illinois HAN/SIREN) – The Illinois HAN/SIREN provides tools and capacity for rapid, reliable, and secure web-based alerting as well as communication and organization-based health information sharing and collaboration. Siren is the emergency planning, alerting, and notification system for IDPH. Please sign up for SIREN alerts by visiting the link above for registration instructions.
  • IDPH bi-weekly webinars for LTCFs – IDPH shares invites with LTCFs monthly, or use your active web portal account, to access the updated webinar schedule and links.

Cook County LTC Roundtable Email Sign-Up

Join CCDPH quarterly to share and discuss your experiences with other professionals facing similar challenges working in LTCFs. Invites are sent 2 weeks prior to the roundtable. To add your email address to our listserv: Email [email protected] or complete the listerv form .

Next meeting: April 30, 2025 – 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Join meeting .

Hand Hygiene

Hand hygiene is considered a primary measure for reducing the risk of transmitting infection among patients and health care personnel.

Environmental Services (Housekeeping)

Professional environmental services in healthcare require continuous training to achieve an infection-free environment. A detailed EVS training process will ensure the EVS staff knows the importance of their role and the established safety standards and regulations that should be followed, whether it’s using cleaning products or handling body fluids/preventing infection transmission.

Below are external links from the CDC and other resources for EVS management and staff training related to infection control and prevention.

Staff Training

Evaluation Tools

EVS Cleaning Products

Below is a list of EPA-recommended antimicrobial cleaning and disinfecting products: Selected EPA-Registered Disinfectants | US EPA

Use of Engineering Controls and Indoor Air Quality

Improving ventilation practices and interventions can reduce the airborne concentrations and reduce the risk that residents, visitors, and health care personnel (HCP) come in contact with viral particles.

Approaches include:

  • Increasing the introduction of outdoor air.
  • Ensuring ventilation systems are operating properly as defined by ASHRAE Standard 62.1.
  • Optimizing the use of engineering controls to reduce or to eliminate exposures.
  • Exploring options to improve ventilation delivery and indoor air quality in all shared spaces. The higher number of air exchanges per hour will result in better results with respect to purging airborne contaminants. Refer to the CDC suggested options for Air Changes per Hour (ACH).
  • Using portable room air cleaners with a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter to enhance air cleaning. Air cleaners need to have the appropriate CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) rating for the room size [e.g., a 300-foot2 room with an 11-foot ceiling will require a portable air cleaner labeled for a room size of at least 415 foot2 (300 × [11/8] = 415)].
  • Optimize the use of engineering controls to reduce or eliminate exposures by shielding HCP and other residents from infected individuals. Ensure that barriers are in compliance with the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) 101, Life Safety Code (LSC).
  • Take measures to limit crowding in communal spaces.
  • Encourage social distancing at large gatherings, such as parties or events.
  • Explore options, in consultation with facility engineers, to improve ventilation delivery and indoor air quality in resident rooms and all shared spaces.
  • Core Recommendations for Reducing Airborne Infectious Aerosol Exposure (ashrae.org)
  • Ventilation in Buildings (cdc.gov)
  • Respiratory Protection – Overview | Occupational Safety and Health Administration (osha.gov)

Outbreak Identification

What is an outbreak?

The occurrence in a community, facility, workplace or region of a case or cases of an illness in excess of the number usually expected. The number of cases indicating an outbreak or cluster will vary according to the agent, disease, or condition, the site conditions/hazards, size and type of population exposed, previous experience or lack of exposure to the disease, and time and place of occurrence.

Outbreak Definitions

  1. Acute Respiratory Illness (ARI)
    Outbreaks must be reported if they meet the following criteria:
    • Acute respiratory illness (ARI) or viral respiratory diseases (including outbreaks of COVID-19 , Influenza (Flu) , Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) , parainfluenza, human metapneumovirus, respiratory adenovirus, rhino/enterovirus, or other viral respiratory diseases meeting the outbreak definition)
    • Three or more residents and/or staff in a facility who, within 72 hours of each other, have:
      • acute respiratory illness (ARI) AND/OR
      • positive point-of-care test (as available) or laboratory-positive test for a single virus* AND
      • at least one of the cases is a resident
  2. Food- and Water-Borne Illnesses
    An outbreak is defined as any clusters of illnesses in which two or more persons (usually residing in separate households) associated in time and place experience onset of a similar, acute illness (usually gastrointestinal) following ingestion of common food or drink (IDPH Principles and Procedures for Investigating Suspected Outbreaks of Foodborne and Waterborne Illness, 2004).To determine if an outbreak is a confirmed outbreak, see: Confirming an Etiology in Foodborne Outbreaks | Foodborne Outbreaks | CDC
  3. Legionellosis
    An outbreak of legionellosis is defined as two or more cases who have an onset of illness linked in time (within 1 year) and who have evidence of a shared exposure during their incubation period, unless laboratory testing rules out an association between cases (e.g. isolates taken from the cases do not match). An epidemiologic investigation should be initiated to identify additional cases and potential sources for Legionella. Often, additional information needs to be obtained before more aggressive environmental health investigations (e.g. sampling and testing for Legionella) are initiated.
    • Presumptive healthcare: A case with ≥10 days of continuous stay at a healthcare facility during the 14 days before onset of symptoms.
    • Possible healthcare: A case that spent a portion of the 14 days before date of symptom onset in one or more healthcare facilities but does not meet the criteria for presumptive healthcare-associated Legionnaires’ disease.
  4. Norovirus – Acute gastroenteritis (AGE)
    An outbreak is defined as two or more AGE cases occurring in a unit with initial dates of onset within 48 hours of each other (norovirus is only one of many viruses and bacteria that can cause AGE). (IDPH Guidelines for the Prevention and Control of Viral Acute Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Illinois Long-Term Care Facilities, 2012 ). You must be an IDPH web portal user to open this document.
  5. Clostridium Difficile
    • At least three persons in the same unit/area of the facility with symptoms consistent with  difficileinfection (e.g. diarrhea) within a period of seven days OR five cases within a four-week period AND
    • who meet case definition for CDI AND
    • when not otherwise ruled out by laboratory identification of other pathogens (e.g. norovirus) among two or more persons. (Clinical presentation should be a component in determination of outbreak etiology.)
  6. Group A Streptococcus (GAS) Infections : Invasive Disease
    The following epi-linked cases with onsets within a 21-day period will meet criteria to count as a confirmed invasive GAS outbreak:
    • Two or more confirmed cases with GAS isolated from a sterile site OR
    • At least one invasive GAS case (isolate from sterile site) and at least one invasive disease in the absence of another identified etiology with isolation of GAS from a non-sterile site (e.g. Necrotizing fasciitis with isolation from wound).
  7. Scabies
    • Confirmed outbreak definition:
      • One case of healthcare-provider-diagnosed Norwegian (crusted) scabies, OR
      • TWO or more symptomatic persons with epi-linked exposure AND
      • At least TWO are skin scraping positive.
    • Suspect outbreak definition:
      • Two or more symptomatic persons with epi-linked exposure AND
      • None of the affected persons are diagnosed with Norwegian (crusted) scabies AND
      • Only ONE person is skin scraping positive, OR Healthcare provider diagnosis of scabies (either skin scraping is not performed or skin scraping performed with negative results) AND
      • Scabicide treatment is ordered for TWO or more persons.

Communicable Disease Reporting

Mandated reporters, such as health care providers, hospitals and laboratories must report any suspected or confirmed case of these diseases to CCDPH within the number of days or hours indicated in parentheses. See the IDPH Reportable Diseases poster, available for download.

To report a communicable disease to CCDPH, call 708-836-8699. To report an urgent communicable disease matter after hours, call: 708-836-8600 , Option 3 and follow the prompts.

Healthcare-associated Infections (HAIs) and Multidrug-resistant Organisms (MDROs)

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections patients can get while receiving medical treatment. These infections are a major threat to patient safety and are often preventable.

Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of microorganisms (germs) to change and adapt so that medications used to treat them are not able to kill them anymore. Antimicrobial resistance includes resistance to antibacterial, antiviral, antiparasitic and antifungal drugs.

Antibiotic Stewardship

Antibiotic stewardship is the effort to measure and improve how antibiotics are prescribed by clinicians and used by patients. Improving antibiotic prescribing and use is critical to effectively treat infections, protect patients from harms caused by unnecessary antibiotic use, and combat antibiotic resistance.

Infection Control and Response Assessment (ICAR)

Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) tools are used to systematically assess a healthcare facility’s infection prevention and control (IPC) practices and guide quality improvement activities (e.g., by addressing identified gaps).

Updated March 13, 2025, 2:38 PM