Infection Prevention in Long-Term Care

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers four short videos for The 4 E's of an Effective Hand Hygiene Program. The video series is appropriate for multiple audiences for training or education in health care settings.

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention infographic provides an overview of ways to prevent developing sepsis.

Here is an A–Z list of infection prevention and control resources for nursing facility staff. Each letter links to a relevant fact sheet, flyer, tool or website for more details.

This spreadsheet tool is designed for facility nursing staff to use to keep track of urinary tract infections over a designated time period.

CMS has added the February 2014 OIG report on Adverse Events in SNFs as well as a listing of Potentially Preventable Adverse Events, the Adverse Drug Event Trigger Tool, Acronyms Related to Adverse Events & a comment they will add more tools and resources.

View this video featuring Jill Vianco, administrator of Advanced Rehabilitation & Healthcare of Vernon, Texas, discussing the importance of long-term care team members protecting their residents by receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

This series of three learning modules focuses on identifying the signs and symptoms of COVID-19, knowing when and how to report signs and symptoms of COVID-19, and remembering to maintain infection prevention processes.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a set of training modules to help educate nursing home staff on key patient safety concepts critical to improving the safety of nursing home residents. Each of the modules has an instructor’s guide and a student workbook.

This algorithm outlines when and how to implement enhanced barrier precautions (EBP) in a nursing home facility. The handout consists of risk assessment questions to determine whether EBP apply to an individual resident, in addition to implementation steps if a resident meets the criteria.

In this video, a nursing home CNA shares her perspectives on the COVID-19 vaccinations.

This PDF provides a word search game focused on antibiotic resistance and stewardship.

This webpage provides educational information on the proper usage for antibiotics—when to use versus when not to. A video suitable for children to view and understand accompanies the information.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used new data to update the United States burden of seven antimicrobial-resistant pathogens typically found in health care settings.

This article explains how the diagnosis is made, outlines the reasons for treating and summarizes the reasons for avoiding unnecessary treatment of asymptomatic bacteriuria.

This series of nearly 20 different infection prevention reference cards from the Health Quality Innovation Network can be downloaded and shared with frontline health care staff. Topics include enhanced barrier precautions, personal protective equipment, cleaning and disinfection, and transmission-based precautions.

These Best Practices Pocket Cards can be printed and laminated for education, training and reminders for staff in a variety of topics.

Use this tool from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track use of enhanced barrier precaution observations by staff.

This information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is aimed to help reduce the overuse of unnecessary antibiotics leading to the spread of superbugs.

The Respiratory Surveillance Line List from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides a template for data collection and active monitoring of both residents and staff during a suspected respiratory illness cluster or outbreak at a nursing home or other long-term care facility.

The discovery of antibiotics was one of the greatest medical achievements of the twentieth century. However, overuse of these drugs has led to the development of resistance in bacteria. As a consequence, some infections can result in serious illness and even death. In this podcast, Dr. Tarayn Fairlie discusses the dangers of overusing antibiotics.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) previously reported that the burden of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens increased in the United States in 2020 in the COVID-19 Impact Report. The information in this report describes the burden in the following two years, 2021 and 2022, and compares against 2019 data.

In this module 2 of TMF's monthly CMD training series, medical directors will understand the importance of implementing a successful infection prevention and control program (IPC) in the nursing home setting and how to integrate IPC into their Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) program.

By the end of this module, medical directors will understand how to apply a systems approach to problem solving in the nursing home environment so they can improve safety, quality and health outcomes for residents. They will learn how to measure the impact of quality improvement initiatives and identify how systems theory can help with infection prevention and control.

This article provides clinical practice guidelines for the management of asymptomatic bacteriuria by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Use this quick and easy form to gather and document monthly data for submission to the NHSN CDI Project.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new guidance for State Survey Agencies and long-term care facilities, which went into effect on April 1, 2024, on the use of enhanced barrier precautions to align with nationally accepted standards.

Download this latest version of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) Nursing Home Visitation FAQs, which were updated Feb. 2, 2022, with information about testing visitors for COVID-19, improving air flow and air quality in facilities and funding available for environmental changes, which could potentially reduce transmission of COVID-19.

This CDC website for long-term care providers provides information and resources on prevention of infections, offers information for clinical staff, infection control coordinators and residents on topices related to antibiotic stewardship, dialysis safety and hand hygiene, and access to infection tracking system for long-term care facilities.

There are four color levels for mask guidance classified by the CDC based on local county COVID-19 transmission rates. Use these signs in your facility to show your local county's current transmission rate level and mask guidance.

View this video featuring Russell Kohl, MD, FAAFP, TMF chief medical officer, who discusses the impacts of COVID-19 in nursing homes and the vaccines that have been released to fight COVID-19 in the U.S.

Nursing home surveyors can take this brief training related to a focused COVID-19 survey. See the Associated Documents table for a list of supporting resources. This site may require a free account to access the tools and training.

This video features writer, actor, producer and director Tyler Perry, who discusses the COVID-19 vaccine with medical experts. The interview includes information about how the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines work, the science and history behind the vaccine development, and the reasons for vaccine hesitancy in people of color.

This guide depicts the early appearance and evolution of a deep tissue pressure injury (DTPI) from intact, deep red/maroon or purple colored skin to epidermolysis and "blood blisters." The guide also includes the differential diagnoses (imposters) of ischemic and traumatic injury that can mimic DTPI.

Download this poster to display in your facility to help remind patients and staff about proper handwashing techniques.

Read this success story about Good Shepherd Lutheran Home's efforts to find the possible initial cause of and contain a sudden COVID-19 outbreak in August 2022. The practices and education they put in place will help to prevent future outbreaks.

This webpage includes the latest infection control educational resources and information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Project Firstline. Use the tools available within this resource to provide easy to understand training for your staff, residents and visitors.  

Download and display this poster from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in your facility. This poster lists easy-to-follow instructions to help clinical staff follow infection prevention and enhanced barrier precautions.

Nursing home staff can use this flowchart from the TMF Quality Innovation Network to help determine when to implement standard and enhanced barrier precautions.

Use this fillable PDF form from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention once your nursing home staff have begun using enhanced barrier precautions. This form will help you conduct observations of staff who are using enhanced barrier precautions during high-contact resident care activities as a way to audit and give feedback.

What are enhanced barrier precautions? When should your nursing home staff implement these types of precautions? This PowerPoint presentation from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention answers these and other questions about enhanced barrier precautions.

This poster from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention helps explain to people visiting nursing facilities why staff may be wearing gowns and gloves and following enhanced barrier precautions.

This recording is the third in a four-part series on the role of environmental services in infection control, featuring NADONA's Executive Director Cindy Fronning. In this recording, Ms. Fronning reviews types of disinfectants and the importance of reading labels. She also shares the three principles of cleaning, highlights several high-touch areas to be aware of and provides helpful tools to assess the cleanliness of the areas/surfaces.

Use this assessment to check for any gaps in education or training among staff. Filling out this assessment and reviewing the results may help identify where further education is needed moving forward.

Use this fishbone diagram to help your organization conduct a root cause analysis. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

Use this pneumonia example fishbone diagram to help your organization conduct a root cause analysis. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

Use this fishbone diagram to help your organization conduct a root cause analysis. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their quality improvement work.

Do you or your nursing home staff have questions about enhanced barrier precautions? View this webpage from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which lists answers to frequently asked questions.

Get Ahead of Sepsis is a national educational effort that emphasizes the importance of early recognition, timely treatment, reassessment of antibiotic needs, and prevention of infections. Here are sepsis fact sheets, infographics, posters, brochures and social media content from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In this infection prevention and control success story, Westward Trails Nursing and Rehabilitation shares tips on how it has decreased to almost zero new sepsis diagnoses due to early recognition within its facility.

This recording is the second in a four-part series on the role of environmental services in infection control, featuring NADONA's Executive Director Cindy Fronning. In this recording, Ms. Fronning discusses hand hygiene and how to prevent the transmission of healthcare-associated infections (HAI). She outlines when to use soap instead of alcohol-based gel or wipes and describes what direct transmission of HAIs is, along with how HAI transmission occurs.

Promote infection control and prevention among nursing home staff with this poster to encourage and recognize Hand Hygiene Heroes.

This pre-programmed Excel workbook compiles hand hygiene observational data by individual, shift, position, location and department to help staff regularly review opportunities for hand hygiene performance improvement. The user guide gives nursing home staff detailed step-by-step instructions with visuals to record, analyze and review observational audit data using the tracking tool itself.

Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect you and your family from getting sick. Nursing facilities can post this flyer to educate visitors and families when and how they should wash their hands to stay healthy.

This video discusses urinary incontinence, including the types and causes and how to implement the appropriate interventions.

This fall-themed word search game for nursing homes includes tips for staying healthy.

This document acknowledges challenges to and provides strategies for preventing the spread of COVID-19 among long-term community residents living with dementia.

This tip sheet provides a detailed step-by-step illustration and description on how to wash your hands correctly.

This new infographic is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Visit this CDC web page to learn how to select a mask and how to correctly wear and clean your mask.

Soap and water work to remove all types of germs from hands, while alcohol-based hand sanitizer acts by killing certain germs on the skin. Use this flyer in nursing homes to educate how to properly use hand sanitizer to kill germs.

Moving Needles is a five-year cooperative agreement between PALTmed (Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association, formerly known as AMDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). They provide strategies and ideas for evidence-based quality improvement projects to improve immunization rates in nursing homes.

Cut out these Badge Buddy infection prevention tips to insert in nursing home staff badge holders. There are vertical and horizontal versions as well as "Vaccine Champion" and "Hand Hygiene Hero" logos to identify outstanding staff. These doffing steps follow CDC Example 1; choose the example that matches your facility's procedures.

Cut out these Badge Buddy infection prevention tips to insert in nursing home staff badge holders. There are vertical and horizontal versions as well as "Vaccine Champion" and "Hand Hygiene Hero" logos to identify outstanding staff. These doffing steps follow CDC Example 2; choose the example that matches your facility's procedures.

This mini-toolkit includes resources geared toward improving infection prevention and control practices.

This tool, prepared by Alliant Health Solutions, a Hospital Quality Improvement Contractor (HQIC), is a changeable spreadsheet designed to support nursing facility infection prevention and control (IPC) surveillance.

This toolkit, developed by New York Academy of Medicine and Yale School of Nursing, includes infection control and prevention tools and resources targeting long-term care (LTC) facilities, administrators, support staff, etc.

Like many nursing homes, Calder Woods in Beaumont, Texas, found residents and family inconsistent with wearing masks to help prevent infection, particularly the coronavirus. Find out the steps they took to success.

This handout from the Virginia Department of Health provides an infection prevention checklist for the use of enhanced barrier precautions (EBP) in a nursing home setting.

This PDF provides a word search game focused on infection prevention.

Read this success story to learn why and how Jones County Rest Home in Ellis, Mississippi went back to the basics of proper hand hygiene after investigating the cause of a COVID-19 outbreak at their facility.

The Infection Preventionist Daily Task List is a guide for the infection preventionist (IP) to use in their daily work. It can also serve as a mechanism to notify leadership of emerging trends and issues.

The Infection Preventionist Monthly Task List is a guide for the infection preventionists to use in their work. It also serves as a mechanism to notify leadership of required monthly reviews.

This two-page document from the Sepsis Alliance gives an overview of the causes of sepsis, how to identify sepsis and the urgent nature of sepsis.

This mini-toolkit includes influenza vaccine resources for the nursing home team as well as residents and their families.

The journey to COVID-19 infection control starts with each one of us. This flyer for nursing homes displays all the important prevention methods to encourage in your facility.

The de Beaumont Foundation offers concise, practical guidance around language and messaging to support vaccine acceptance. This toolkit includes communication tips and specific recommended language emerging from a broader survey conducted on the topic.

Listen to this Sept. 17, 2020, recording presented by TMF Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization webinar. Dr. Buffy Lloyd-Krejci with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières shares findings from visits to nursing homes in Houston/Harris County. Click here to view the slide presentation for this webinar. https://tmfnetworks.org/Portals/0/Resource%20Center/091720%20Office%20Hrs%20PPT_COVID-19_Final_508.pdf

Use this letter template from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to communicate with nursing home residents, family members, friends and volunteers to help them understand why your facility has implemented enhanced barrier precautions.

This two-page document from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives an overview of what to expect when recovering from sepsis.

To improve infection prevention and control, use this chart to easily list your facility's approved disinfectants as well as the EPA registration number and company for each.

Facility nursing staff can use this updated guide with information from Loeb and McGeer’s Criteria to help determine infections.

Use this worksheet comprised of both regulatory requirements and best practices in infection prevention and control to help create an improved infection prevention and control program.

This flyer provides information about the systems of the human body affected by Long COVID-19.

This May 19, 2022, LTC Connect recording features Amie Taggart Blaszczyk, PharmD, BCGP, BCPS, FASCP, professor and division head of Geriatrics & Pediatrics with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, discussing her research on medication issues seen in the wake of a COVID-19 diagnosis. Her findings show the dangers of polypharmacy and interactions beyond the acute illness, and can inform us about what to watch out for when any acute illness occurs in residents.

This Sept. 15, 2022, LTC Connect recording is the first of a two-part immunization webinar series. This session focuses on influenza vaccinations for residents and staff. Discussion includes the benefits of and recommendations for the influenza vaccine, as well as how nursing facilities can use data to improve vaccination processes and reporting.

This Oct. 20, 2022, LTC Connect recording is the second of a two-part immunization webinar series. This session focuses on pneumonia vaccinations for residents and staff. Discussion includes the benefits of and recommendations for the pneumonia vaccine, as well as how nursing facilities can use data to improve vaccination processes and reporting.

This Sept. 21 webinar recording explores the benefits of and recommendations for pneumonia and influenza vaccines for residents and staff. Additionally, TMF Quality Innovation Network–Quality Improvement Organization specialists discuss how nursing facilities can use data to improve vaccination processes for tracking and reporting.

This July 21 LTC Connect recording features TMF QIN-QIO subject-matter experts reviewing hand hygiene protocols and proper procedures for donning and doffing personal protective equipment. They also discuss targeted COVID-19 training from CMS for management and frontline staff, including vaccination system preparation.

This Dec. 8, 2022, LTC Connect recording focuses on ways to reduce emergency department visits and readmissions during the holiday season. Discussion includes preventive measures such as influenza, pneumonia and COVID-19 vaccinations.

This presentation is from the March 16, 2023, LTC Connect webinar, "Reducing Hospitalizations Due to Facility-Acquired Infections, Part 1 – Antibiotic Stewardship."

This March 16, 2023, LTC Connect recording focuses on reducing hospitalizations due to facility-acquired infections and antibiotic stewardship. TMF Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization specialists discussed how proper identification of urinary tract infections and having an antibiotic stewardship process can help to decrease unnecessary antibiotics as well as help to reduce emergency department visits and readmissions for your residents.

This April 20, 2023, LTC Connect recording focuses on reducing hospitalizations due to pneumonia and sepsis facility-acquired infections. TMF Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization specialists reviewed pneumonia and sepsis in the nursing home setting and explore how to reduce hospitalizations by creating clinical champions and using advance care planning.

This June 16, 2022, LTC Connect recording features TMF QIN-QIO subject-matter experts reviewing recent updates to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) reporting system, including changes to the data that facilities are asked to report in the COVID-19 Pathway and Vaccination modules.

This four-page overview and fact sheet from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides details of what occurs when sepsis is not recognized and treated.

Discover how the staff at Park View Care Center in Fort Worth, Texas, successfully implemented a program to allow available space for all new admissions and readmissions, including those with COVID-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a June 26, 2023, health advisory about malaria cases detected in Florida and Texas, and that increased international travel over the summer season may increase risk of malaria.

This CDC website contains a variety of MDRO management resources.

This graphic will assist facility nursing staff in determining a urinary tract infection from asymptomatic bacteriuria.

This National Healthcare Safety Network website provides information on the MDRO/CDI event reporting module using laboratory-identified event methodology.

"This toolkit was developed by the North Carolina Surveillance for Healthcare Associated and Resistant Pathogens Patient Safety (SHARPPS) Program specifically for long-term care facilities to assist in addressing MDROs.

This toolkit can guide a facility through a norovirus outbreak with a fillable checklist.

This SBAR toolkit is designed to help train facility nursing staff in what to look for with a suspected urinary tract infection. The tool can be used to help prevent overuse and unnecessary antibiotics.

Watch this July 11, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to learn the crucial role antibiotic stewardship plays in the prevention of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections, as well as provide tools for measuring your antibiotic program’s effectiveness.

Listen to this July 18, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording from the TMF Quality Innovation Network to learn how to use decolonization in nursing homes as a strategy to prevent multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infections and hospitalizations. This session also explores implementation strategies that are both practical and feasible for your facility.

Watch this Aug. 22, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to hear Cindy Fronning, director of education with The National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration in Long Term Care (NADONA LTC), discuss the importance of enhanced barrier precautions and why they are necessary.

Watch this Sept. 19, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to learn about the latest vaccination updates for the fall season. This webinar discusses the importance of the new 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine and highlights popular resources in our immunization's toolkit.

Listen to this TMF Quality Innovation Network Nursing Home Connect webinar recording from April 4, 2024, to learn how nursing home staff can identify symptoms of Long COVID and address issues that can lead to functional decline. Listeners can also learn how to minimize impacts and help residents improve.

How can your nursing home team benefit from using the Quality Assurance Performance Improvement (QAPI) process? Listen to this TMF Quality Innovation Network webinar recording from Sept. 12, 2024, to learn about tools and resources you and your team can use to help guide you through the QAPI process.

Listen to this June 20, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording from the TMF Quality Innovation Network to hear TMF Health Quality Institute’s LaNeidra Williams and Betsy Beard, registered dental hygienists, discuss how proper oral care can protect residents from developing pneumonia and/or sepsis.

Watch this updated TMF Quality Innovation Network Nursing Home Connect webinar recording from June 11, 2024, to learn about nursing home facility infection control procedures, including vaccinations, as a way to prevent sepsis and associated hospital readmissions.

Listen to this May 2, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording from the TMF Quality Innovation Network to learn how sepsis develops from a urinary tract infection. Listeners will also learn the symptoms of sepsis, risk factors for developing a sepsis infection and how to diagnosis and treat it, and most importantly, how to prevent a sepsis infection in the first place.

Listen to this May 9, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to learn how your entire interdisciplinary team can prevent, identify and get ahead of wound infections that can lead to life-threatening sepsis.

Listen to this recording as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) long-term care team provides an overview of COVID-19 vaccination reporting, COVID-19 case and hospitalization reporting, and NHSN administrative topics, such as adding/editing users in the application.

Listen to this Aug. 8, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to hear a panel of experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide updates on the upcoming vaccination season, including new recommendations for older adults for COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and flu.

Listen to this July 25, 2024, Nursing Home Connect webinar recording to join the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Long-Term Care team for a robust overview of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) and enhanced barrier precautions. Learn how anyone in nursing facilities can implement successful precautions.

This tool lists some of the high-touch areas in your facility that must be cleaned and disinfected frequently to ensure the health and safety of residents, visitors and staff.

In this April 11, 2023, recording, Kate Tyner from the Nebraska Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program (ICAP) discusses environmental cleaning and disinfection, which often includes directions that are complex for low-literacy staff. Learn solutions to overcome these challenges. This video also includes a regional update on COVID-19 bivalent vaccination rates.

In this Feb. 28, 2023, recording, Diana Cervantes, DrPH, professor at the University of North Texas Center for Older Adults, shares infection prevention and control best practices for respiratory illness outbreaks, including the role of COVID-19 vaccination.

In this Nov. 15, 2022, recording, TMF QIN-QIO specialists discuss infection control procedures, including COVID-19 vaccinations, as a way to prevent sepsis.

A nursing home training series focused on infection control features 13 self-paced sessions on managing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Use this tool with the influenza example to help you set up your measures for reporting your quality improvement project. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

Use this tool with the pneumonia example to help you set up your measures for reporting your quality improvement project. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

Use this document to help you set up your measures for reporting your quality improvement (QI) project. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

This recording is the first in a four-part series on the role of environmental services (EVS) in infection control, featuring NADONA's Executive Director Cindy Fronning. In this recording, Ms. Fronning defines infection terms and identifies the policies and procedures that EVS should have and what they should include in regard to infection prevention. She will also describe the elements that make up a water management program.

This resource from the Health Quality Innovation Network is intended to help nursing home staff perform a peri care audit. Note: Ensure the tool follows your facility’s policy and procedure.

This toolkit includes pneumonia vaccine resources for nursing home team members as well as residents and their families.

This post-acute care tool helps caregivers quickly identify the signs and symptoms of sepsis and begin treatment.

These two posters are from the CDC to help educate dialysis patients with either a catheter or a fistula or graft on infection control practices.

This recording is the fourth in a four-part series on the role of environmental services in infection control, featuring NADONA's Executive Director Cindy Fronning. In this recording, Ms. Fronning reviews the different types of personal protective equipment (PPE) along with the components of respiratory hygiene and cough etiquette. She also describes how linens may transmit pathogens.

A regional work group in Allegheny County Pennsylvania identified a risk of transmitting the SARS-CoV-2 infection from residents of skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities who also visit dialysis facilities. Download this memo and communication form from the National Forum of ESRD Networks that explains the identified problem and proposed solution to minimize infection.

According to a Sept. 1 Medical News Today article, a new Psychological Science study found that health care professionals were more likely to wash their hands if they were reminded about keeping patients safe, as opposed to being reminded about personal risks.

Use this tool with influenza and pneumonia examples to help your team develop the quality improvement plan based on your root case analysis. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

Use this tool to help your team develop the quality improvement (QI) plan based on your root case analysis. This document is a draft of suggestions and must be modified by the facility team to ensure they reflect their QI work.

This quality improvement plan provides an example of how to identify a concern, determine the root cause(s) and develop a plan with outcome measures. This is to be used only as a reference.

The Quality Measure Tip Sheet provides an overview of the influenza vaccine measure, MDS coding requirements and additional tips and assessment considerations.

This Quality Measures Tip Sheet provides an overview of the pneumonia vaccine measure, MDS coding requirements and additional tips and assessment considerations

This Quality Measures Tip Sheet provides an overview of the urinary tract infection (long-stay) measure, MDS coding requirements, possible root causes and more.

View this video recording to learn more about the Quality Measures (QM) specification for the percent of short-stay residents who were accessed and appropriately given the pneumococcal vaccine. Duration: 13:24

This video reviews the quality measure specification for the percent of long-stay residents with a urinary tract infection to identify the relationship between the Minimum Data Set and this quality measure.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends how to implement personal protective equipment (PPE) use in nursing homes to prevent the spread of multi-drug resistant organisms (MDRO), as well as enhanced barrier precaution resources such as video, posters and a pocket guide.

This presentation is from the March 16, 2023, LTC Connect webinar, "Adverse Drug Events."

This study will help facility staff understand how improved hydration for residents reduces the number of urinary tract infections.

This printable holiday poster reminds readers of the three Ws to keep your season happy and bright - wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance.

This web-friendly holiday poster reminds readers of the three Ws to keep your season happy and bright - wear a mask, wash your hands and watch your distance.

Share this educational tool with all staff, residents, family and visitors, and place it in new admission packets. Also consider adding it to infection prevention ongoing education.

Share this educational tool with all staff, residents, family and visitors, and place it in new admission packets. Also consider adding it to infection prevention ongoing education.

This webpage from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists videos, posters, observational tools for staff and letter templates nursing facilities can send to nursing home staff and family members to inform them of enhanced barrier precautions to take when inside the facility.

This Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality - AHRQ - document provides guidance on what fit testing is, how to do it and what the person being tested can expect.

Nursing homes can use this autumn crossword puzzle to promote respiratory illness awareness and prevention.

Use this situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) tool to enhance caregiver-to-physician communication while discussing a change in a resident's status.

Nursing home staff can use this one page, fillable form to perform an initial evaluation of a nursing home resident's change in condition. This form will help the nursing home staff member record the situation, background, conduct an assessment and make a recommendation (SBAR) when they are ready to speak with a physician, nurse practitioner or other health care provider to discuss next steps to help treat a resident who is suspected of developing sepsis.

The Sepsis Alliance is an organization whose mission is to save lives and reduce suffering by improving sepsis awareness and care. Visit the website to download resources to share with your clinical staff, residents, patients and their loved ones.

This Sepsis Alliance webpage provides an overview of risks for long-term care residents who are at increased risk for developing infections and sepsis.

Cut out these sepsis badge cards to insert in nursing home staff badge holders.

Cut out these sepsis badge cards to insert in nursing home staff badge holders.

This two-page document from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gives an overview of the signs and symptoms of sepsis, and how it is diagnosed and treated.

This webpage provides downloadable sepsis word game templates for word search, crossword puzzles and unscramble the words.

This flyer helps nursing homes identify sepsis and determine what to do if sepsis is suspected.

Sepsis can be tricky to spot, but it’s crucial. Without prompt treatment, sepsis can cause tissue damage, organ failure and even death. Watch this 5-minute Powtoon to learn the signs and symptoms in a nursing home setting.

This infographic describes what sepsis is and how to respond to this life-threatening condition.

Post this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) signage in English and Spanish to educate nursing facility staff on the proper sequence for donning and removing PPE.

Learn how Jefferson County Nursing Home in Fayette, Mississippi, increased resident bivalent vaccination rates by more than 80% and have remained COVID-19 free since August 2022.

After its last COVID-19 outbreak, Querencia at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas, found a need for refreshed educational efforts toward hand hygiene and disinfectant measures. Find out how this nursing facility used tools, training and resources to implement an effective infection prevention plan and remain outbreak-free.

This table from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be used as an at-a-glance description of when to use which precaution.

This situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) toolkit from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) helps nursing staff communicate about suspected urinary tract infections (UTIs) with prescribing clinicians to determine the need for antibiotics.

View this video featuring Carolyn Worley, a resident at Advanced Rehabilitation & Healthcare of Vernon, Texas, who provides a resident's point of view about the importance of all nursing home team members receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.

This sepsis quick reference guide provides the clinical signs and symptoms of infection in nursing residents, helping caregivers determine when to call a doctor.

This article shares some reasons why people with dementia resist wearing masks (e.g., post-war trauma) and also provides tips on how to help overcome that resistance.

A nursing home-specific antibiogram may be an effective and inexpensive tool for improving appropriate antibiotic prescribing. This toolkit reflects the results of preliminary work with three nursing homes to develop the antibiogram, train staff and implement the program.

This toolkit, from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, provides tips and tools to help staff engage residents and families and provide needed education about how infections are treated in the facility.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) website has organized information on key infection prevention topics for health care professionals and consumers.

There is a new tracking tool on the market that is aimed at helping nursing homes monitor healthcare-acquired infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network released a new tracking component that allows long-term care facilities to log onto a website where they can report cases of infections such as C. difficile, urinary tract infections, and others.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Targeted COVID-19 Training for Frontline Nursing Home Staff Group Facilitator’s Guide makes it easy to integrate this training into existing staff meetings or orientations and fosters team collaboration. Nursing homes that complete the CMS training will help QIN-QIOs document COVID-19 infection prevention and control training among 75 percent of staff members in your facility.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases defines the types of urinary incontinence, reviews the causes and symptoms, describes treatments, and includes additional resources.

The National Institute on Aging provides resources on bladder health and tips for managing incontinence in those with Alzheimer’s Disease, reviews the types of incontinence, discusses how to manage and treat urinary incontinence, shares bladder control training techniques, along with additional resources

Use this quick and easy form to gather and document monthly data for submission to the NHSN UTI Project.

This guide provides information about the urinary tract, types and causes of infection, risk factors for infection, and identification and treatment for urinary tract infections in both women and men.

This article provides information on how to tell if symptoms are actually urinary tract infection (UTI) related, where the infection is located and if treatment is needed.

This article helps to educate on when antibiotics may be needed to resolve a urinary tract infection and when they should be avoided.

Vaccinating Adults: A Step-by-Step Guide provides 142 pages of practical information in an easy-to-use format to help you implement or enhance adult immunization services in your health care setting. The guide also includes an abundance of web addresses and references to assist you in staying up-to-date with the most current information. Developed by staff at the Immunization Action Coalition, the Guide had several early reviews for technical accuracy by subject matter experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Vaccine Program Office.

View this video featuring Monika Maxwell, RN, who shares her perspective, as a Hispanic woman in health care, on why minority communities may be hesitant to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.

View this video featuring nationally recognized women's health physician Gloria Richard-Davis, MD, MBA, NCMP, FACOG, with the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS), who addresses common fertility concerns with COVID-19 vaccines and why it is important to receive the vaccine.

Listen to this webinar recording from April 11, 2024, with the Nebraska Infection Control Assessment and Promotion Program to learn how nursing home staff can implement enhanced barrier precautions to reduce the spread of multi-drug resistant organisms among residents.

This investigational report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focuses on health care exposures for Clostridium difficile infections (CDIs), the percentage of CDIs that occur in health care settings other than hospitals and whether prevention programs actually reduce CDIs.

Use this cute flyer in nursing facilities to encourage staff to become COVID-19 Vaccine Champions and promote infection prevention.

Bryan Health developed this poster showing the levels of risk for the spread of COVID-19 with and without a mask. Download the PDF and share this important information with your team and residents.

The American Hospital Association has updated the Well-being Playbook with tools to support teams who work directly with patients with COVID-19. This version includes curated resources specific to COVID-19 on suicide prevention, operationalizing peer support, and a guide to walk leaders through well-being program development and execution.

View this video featuring renowned long-term care practitioner Joleann Beene, RN-BC, IP-BC, FACDONA, CDP, CADDCT, who shares her experience with receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and discusses the importance of all nursing home team members being vaccinated.

Download and share this handout from the World Health Organization that shows when it is important to wash your hands when caring for a patient or resident.

There are four color levels for mask guidance classified by the CDC based on local county COVID-19 transmission rates. Use these signs in Spanish for Puerto Rico to show your local county's current transmission rate level and mask guidance.

This resource in Spanish for Puerto Rico describes the rapid progression of sepsis and why early identification and treatment is key to saving lives.

Promote infection control and prevention among nursing home staff with this poster in Spanish for Puerto Rico to encourage and recognize Hand Hygiene Heroes.

Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect you and your family from getting sick. Nursing facilities can post this flyer in Spanish for Puerto Rico to educate visitors and families when and how they should wash their hands to stay healthy.

Soap and water work to remove all types of germs from hands, while alcohol-based hand sanitizer acts by killing certain germs on the skin. Use this flyer in Spanish for Puerto Rico in nursing homes to educate how to properly use hand sanitizer to kill germs.

Cut out these Badge Buddy infection prevention tips in Spanish for Puerto Rico to insert in nursing home staff badge holders. There are vertical and horizontal versions as well as "Vaccine Champion" and "Hand Hygiene Hero" logos to identify outstanding staff. These doffing steps follow CDC Example 1; choose the example that matches your facility's procedures.

Cut out these Badge Buddy infection prevention tips to insert in nursing home staff badge holders. There are vertical and horizontal versions as well as "Vaccine Champion" and "Hand Hygiene Hero" logos to identify outstanding staff. These doffing steps follow CDC Example 2; choose the example that matches your facility's procedures.

The journey to COVID-19 infection control starts with each one of us. This flyer in Spanish for Puerto Rico displays all the important prevention methods to encourage in nursing homes.

This graphic in Spanish for Puerto Rico provides information about the systems of the human body affected by COVID-19.

This fact sheet in Spanish for Puerto Rico details the CDC's June 26, 2023, health advisory about malaria cases detected in Florida and Texas, and that increased international travel over the summer season may increase risk of malaria.

This post-acute care tool in Spanish for Puerto Rico helps caregivers quickly identify the signs and symptoms of sepsis and begin treatment.

This flyer in Spanish for Puerto Rico helps nursing homes identify sepsis and determine what to do if sepsis is suspected.

This infographic in Spanish for Puerto Rico describes what sepsis is and how to respond to this life-threatening condition.

This sepsis quick reference guide in Spanish for Puerto Rico provides the clinical signs and symptoms of infection in nursing residents, helping caregivers determine when to call a doctor.

Antibiotics are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs and save millions of lives each year. However, overuse and misuse have led to an alarming rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Review this poster to learn about the dangers of overusing antibiotics and why sometimes they are not the answer.

There are four color levels for mask guidance classified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) based on local county COVID-19 transmission rates. Use these signs in U.S. Spanish to show your local county's current transmission rate level and mask guidance.

This resource in U.S. Spanish describes the rapid progression of sepsis and why early identification and treatment is key to saving lives.

Download this poster in U.S. Spanish from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and display it in your facility. This poster lists easy-to-follow instructions to help clinical staff follow infection prevention and enhanced barrier precautions.

This poster, in U.S. Spanish from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, helps explain to people visiting nursing facilities why staff may be wearing gowns and gloves and following enhanced barrier precautions.

Promote infection control and prevention among nursing home staff with this U.S. Spanish poster to encourage and recognize Hand Hygiene Heroes.

Handwashing is one of the best ways to protect you and your family from getting sick. Nursing facilities can post this U.S. Spanish flyer to educate visitors and families when and how they should wash their hands to stay healthy.

This Spanish infographic is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Soap and water work to remove all types of germs from hands, while alcohol-based hand sanitizer acts by killing certain germs on the skin. Use this U.S. Spanish flyer in nursing homes to educate how to properly use hand sanitizer to kill germs.

Cut out these U.S. Spanish Badge Buddy infection prevention tips to insert in nursing home staff badge holders. There are vertical and horizontal versions as well as "Vaccine Champion" and "Hand Hygiene Hero" logos to identify outstanding staff. These doffing steps follow CDC Example 1; choose the example that matches your facility's procedures.

Cut out these Badge Buddy infection prevention tips to insert in nursing home staff badge holders. There are vertical and horizontal versions as well as "Vaccine Champion" and "Hand Hygiene Hero" logos to identify outstanding staff. These doffing steps follow CDC Example 2; choose the example that matches your facility's procedures.

The journey to COVID-19 infection control starts with each one of us. This U.S. Spanish flyer for nursing homes displays all the important prevention methods to encourage in your facility.

This graphic in U.S. Spanish provides information about the systems of the human body affected by COVID-19.

This fact sheet in U.S. Spanish details the CDC's June 26, 2023, health advisory about malaria cases detected in Florida and Texas, and that increased international travel over the summer season may increase risk of malaria.

This post-acute care tool in U.S. Spanish helps caregivers quickly identify the signs and symptoms of sepsis and begin treatment.

This U.S. Spanish flyer helps nursing homes identify sepsis and determine what to do if sepsis is suspected.

This infographic in U.S. Spanish describes what sepsis is and how to respond to this life-threatening condition.

This sepsis quick reference guide in U.S. Spanish provides the clinical signs and symptoms of infection in nursing residents, helping caregivers determine when to call a doctor.

The National Institute on Aging provides resources in Spanish on bladder health and tips for managing incontinence in those with Alzheimer’s Disease, reviews the types of incontinence, discusses how to manage and treat urinary incontinence, shares bladder control training techniques, along with additional resources.

There are four color levels for mask guidance classified by the CDC based on local county COVID-19 transmission rates. Use these signs in Vietnamese to show your local county's current transmission rate level and mask guidance.