Infection Control Resources for Health Care Settings
As an active health care provider, you are on the frontlines, diagnosing and treating infectious diseases every day. From the COVID-19 pandemic to seasonal illness like respiratory viruses, to more antiquated diseases like the measles, our patient populations are more exposed than ever, making infection control procedures more relevant than ever.
Improving Infection Control Measures with Project Firstline
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a wide-range of resources, trainings, and outreach materials to support health care workers in implementing and improving in-clinic disease control measures. Keep your health care setting a safe environment for your team and your patients by taking advantage of these proven methods and resources.
Tackling Respiratory Viruses in a Health Care Setting
With respiratory viruses like the flu, RSV, and COVID-19 spreading in our communities, the risk for spread in our healthcare settings increases. As a healthcare worker, it’s important that you have the infection control knowledge and tools to properly take action and protect your patients, yourself, and your coworkers from getting sick.
Use this Preparedness Checklist to Ensure Safety for All:
- Use masks and respirators to help decrease the spread of respiratory viruses.
- Get vaccinated and encourage patients to do the same.
- Practice physical distancing and implement screening and triage procedures.
- Practice respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette.
- Keep your hands clean.
- Clean and disinfect. Make sure you read labels correctly when using disinfectants.
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Take the Latest COVID-19 Infection Control Trainings
While COVID-19 may no longer be the topic of conversation among patient populations, it is still a threat to their health and well-being. By implementing appropriate infection control measures in your health care setting, you can help limit the spread of COVID-19 throughout the year.
Project Firstline COVID-19 Infection Control Training
Work with your clinic to coordinate and host interactive COVID-19 infection control trainings with the CDC’s easy-to-follow Training Facilitator Toolkit Guide. These training sessions can be tailored to your facility and scheduled around your team’s needs.
Topics Include:
- The basics of infection control
- Source control
- PPE basics
- PPE: donning and doffing
- Hand hygiene
- Crisis standards of care
- Triage and screening
- Microbiology basics
- Recognizing risk
- Environment cleaning & disinfection
COVID-19 Training Videos
Watch Project Firstline’s educational videos to learn about different infection control topics, such as respiratory droplet basics and safe use of multi-dose vials.
COVID-19 Downloadable Resources
View, download, print, and post these helpful infection control guides, how-tos, and job aids to help your team prevent the spread!
Explore Interactive Scenarios to Build Your Infection Control Knowledge
Check your infection control knowledge and gain valuable feedback in real time with the CDC’s interactive, educational infection control interactive scenarios. When you know how to recognize infection risks and understand how to apply infection control solutions you can save patient’s lives.
Interactive Scenarios Include:
- Diarrhea Dilemma – You go to change a patient’s bed linens. When you pull back the sheets, you notice there’s diarrhea on the sheets, and some may have gotten on your hands. View Scenario
- What’s Wrong with These Nurses Station Pictures – In this image of a nurses station, select four problems that need to be fixed to reduce the spread of germs. View Scenario
- Fidgeting Felix Gets an IV – A child, Felix, has just been admitted to the hospital. You are about to insert an I V into his arm. View Scenario
- What’s Wrong with These Outpatient Exam Room Pictures – In this outpatient room, select four problems that need to be fixed to reduce the spread of germs. View Scenario
- What’s Wrong with These Emergency Room Pictures – Healthcare workers need to be extra aware of where germs are found and how they can be spread to surfaces and people. View Scenario
- Where Germs Live in Healthcare – Understanding where germs live in healthcare is the first step in understanding how to stop their spread. Germs usually live in places called reservoirs, which are like natural habitats for germs. View Scenario
Download & Share Helpful Resources with Your Team
Keep infection control top-of-mind with these helpful job aids, infographics, and printable resources!
Infographics on Identifying and Managing Germs
Use Project Firstline’s germ profiles to help your team identify all possible areas of contamination.
- Skin Profile – Learn how germs operate on the skin to stop spread and protect patients
- Respiratory System Profile – Learn how germs spread from the respiratory system to top spread and protect patients
- Blood Profile – Learn how germs operate in blood to stop spread and protect patients
- Gut Profile – Learn how germs operate in the gut to stop spread and protect patients
- Water and Wet Surfaces Profile – Learn how germs operate in water and on wet surfaces to stop spread and protect patients
- Dry Surfaces Profile – Learn how germs interact with dry surfaces to stop spread and protect patients
- Dirt & Dust Profile – Learn how germs spread in dirt and dust to stop spread and protect patients
- Devices Profile – Learn how germs can spread on the devices we use every day to stop spread and protect patients
- How to Read a Disinfectant Label – Learn how to properly read disinfectant labels to ensure you are using the right formulas
- Infection Control Actions for Respiratory Viruses – Infection control actions to stop the spread of viral respiratory infections like influenza, RSV, and COVID-19
Downloadable Microlearning
Use Project Firstline’s short, adaptable micro-learn training resources to educate your team on a variety of infection control topics. The micro-learns are a series of guided discussions that connect infection control concepts to immediate, practical value, so healthcare workers can recognize infection risks and take action to stop the spread of germs. Incorporate these quick, in-person trainings into your next team meeting or huddle.
- Blood Micro-Learn – What to do if you see blood
- Rash Micro-Learn – What to do when you see a patient with a rash
- Cough & Congestion Micro-Learn – What to do when you see a patient with cough and congestion
- Draining Wound Micro-Learn – What to do when you see a patient with a draining wound
- Diarrhea Micro-Learn – What to do when you see diarrhea
Downloadable Factsheets
Use Project Firstline’s factsheets to help your team keep infection control top of mind.
Training Toolkits
Use Project Firstline’s training toolkits to lead live, web-based training sessions with groups of healthcare workers. Help your team learn to recognize infection risks throughout their workday by teaching them where germs live and how they spread. You don’t need to be an expert to lead an infection control training, as the resources in this toolkit will help you along the way.
