You may also want to check out the Washington Department of Health's infection prevention educational series for nursing homes.
Changes are effective November 28, 2017.
Review the Appendix document to ensure you are ready! Information about infection control begins on page 633 and antimicrobial stewardship on page 655.
Many of the best practices for identifying, tracking, and preventing infections are the same across various healthcare settings. Several of the tools listed below were developed for use in other settings but can be readily adapted to long-term care. Some are flagged as being specific to skilled nursing facilities.
SNF-Specific
Infection Control "Hot Topic" tools
Produced by Health Insight.
Washington facilities: Apply to become a Washington Department of Health Honor Roll member.
SNF-Specific
Infection and Antibiotic Start Log
Track your facility's antimicrobial stewardship using a pre-formatted Excel file. Contact us to request a copy.
SNF-Specific
Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship for Nursing Homes
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
SNF-Specific
Sample policy for "Antibiotics Time-out" and sample SBAR format of a time-out request to send to the prescriber
Qualis Health
SNF-Specific
Public commitment to the wise use of antibiotics
Qualis Health
SNF-Specific
Nursing Home Antimicrobial Stewardship Guide
AHRQ
New!
Antibiotics Stewardship Guide for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Settings: Sample
JAMDA November 2017
SNF-Specific
Infection Prevention & Control Program: Sample Policy
Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE)
AMS Implementation Resources for Inpatient and Long-Term Care Settings
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2016 Antimicrobial Stewardship Summit, Speaker Handouts
Northwest Hospital Alliance
Antibiotics are not typically recommended for upper respiratory infections, Yet, many Medicare beneficiaries receive this potentially unnecessary care. See current utilization rates. (Washington only)
Reported as part of the Choosing Wisely initiative
Help protect the health of your community by addressing antimicrobial resistance (Monthly Briefing, July 2017)
Community coalitions are in a terrific position to reduce this threat from the increasing numbers of drug-resistant bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi.
New!
CDI Prevention and Control Policy: Sample
Minnesota Department of Health
Clostridium difficile: Should we be testing for cure? (NHQCC Update, October 2017
Clinical practice guidelines for Clostridium difficile infection in adults
SHEA and IDSA
Guidance for providers: testing for C. difficile infection
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Resources for prevention of C.difficile in healthcare facilities
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Guide to Preventing Clostridium difficile Infections
APIC
Sepsis
New!
Nevada Sepsis Coalition Toolkit for RNs and CNAs
Get educational resources for screening, flowcharts, protocols, and discharge self-management
ID and WA Claims Data, by Community
See the 30-day rehospitalization rates for Medicare beneficiaries admitted with a primary diagnosis of septicemia.
SNF-Specific
Sepsis Toolkit for Post-Acute Care Settings
Developed by the New Jersey Sepsis Learning Action Coalition
Sepsis Management Across the Care Continuum
A webinar hosted by Qualis Health's Communities for Safer Transitions of Care team, originally recorded 11/17/16
Sepsis Fact Sheets
Jointly developed by the Sepsis Alliance, CDC, and Rory Staunton Foundation
Septicemia: Clinical and Patient Education Resources
Sepsis Alliance
Sepsis, antimicrobial stewardship & immunizations: Is there alignment among your programs? (Monthly Briefing, October 2017)
Don't develop tunnel vision when focusing on QI: sometimes, seemingly disparate concepts are intertwined.
Urinary tract infections (Listed on a separate webpage)
SNF-Specific
Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Acute Bacterial Lower Respiratory Tract Infection in Nursing Home Residents
Rochester Nursing Home Collaborative
Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections: 2014 Update
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Norovirus Prevention and Management in Skilled Nursing Facilities & Critical Access Hospitals
Qualis Health
In this recorded webinar, get information about norovirus prevention and outbreak management.
SNF-Specific
Developing a Water Management Program to Reduce Legionella Growth and Spread in Buildings
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
All healthcare settings are now required to evaluate water systems in an effort to prevent legionnaires’ disease.
Guidance for Control of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
Oregon Health Authority
Facility Guidance for Control of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)—November 2015 Update CRE Toolkit
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Handwashing is the number one thing all can do to protect yourself, as well as your residents and their families, from infection. A recent Wall Street Journal article called out the benefits for using the World Health Organization’s technique to train healthcare personnel.
Use Qualis Health's "hand hygiene huddle" to engage residents and their families in infection prevention. has also done recent projects to encourage participation by hospital patients and families in handwashing.
Vaccine administration: Preventing serious shoulder injuries (Journal of the American Pharmacists Association)
Teaching best-evidence: Deltoid intramuscular injection technique (Journal of Nursing Education and Practice)
All Immunizations
View the CDC's immunization schedule for adults
Improve immunization rates for residents by implementing standing orders, standardizing any of your facility's current best practices, and consulting the Idaho or Washington immunization information system for a record of past vaccinations.
Medicare coverage, billing, and other immunization-related guidance from CMS.
Pneumonia
SNF-Specific
This video introduces guidance and tools from AMDA's Infection Advisory Committee on pneumococcal vaccination for PA/LTC facilities.
View the CDC's resources related to the pneumococcal vaccine.
Influenza
It is important to vaccinate both patients and healthcare workers against the flu.
SNF-Specific
Resources from the Rochester Nursing Home Collaborative, including policy examples, staff education, and tracking recommendations.
SNF-Specific
Resources from the CDC related to infection prevention in long-term care facilities, from clinical resources to resident and family education.
Infection Prevention (IP) Tools
New!
Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE)
New!
Long-Term Care Resources; links compiled by the Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies
Your local health departments can be valuable partners regarding infection prevention. Find contacts for Idaho and Washington.
Nursing home regulations require the facility infection control officer have relevant training. Places to start include:
University of North Carolina
Includes a brief, excellent series of training videos; 2 hours of nursing CE
Society for Healthcare Epidemiology Association (SHEA)
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)