Virginia Infection Prevention & Control Training Alliance (VIPTA)

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VIPTA is a statewide infection prevention and control education collaborative, led by the Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group.  Through partnership, VIPTA curates IPC resources for Virginia’s healthcare, congregate care, and public health settings.

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Healthcare providers celebrating. Image sourced from Canva.

Your Infection Prevention Week Game Plan Starts Here

International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) is October 19–25! It is a great time to celebrate the people who make infection prevention happen. Get your team in the game with activities that build skills, raise awareness, and keep others safe.

What to Expect:

International Infection Prevention Week: Start with the official IIPW site. Be on the lookout for resources for this year’s theme, Generations of Infection Prevention: PAST. PRESENT. PROTECTED.

VIPTA Resource Library: Build your game plan with resources for each daily focus. Monday covers sterile processing, TB, and outbreaks. Tuesday focuses on hand hygiene. Wednesday covers vaccines and antibiotics. Thursday focuses on environment of care. Finish the week on Friday with technology.

VDH Infection Prevention Training Power Tools: Add some fun with ready-to-use puzzles, coloring pages, games, and step-by-step training guides.

  • Create your own: Make a custom puzzle or Wordle using key words from your IIPW activities.

How to use it:

  • Make a daily play: Pick one resource for each day. Send it to unit leaders with a few discussion points or trivia questions to share with staff. (Hack: A Project Firstline Micro-Learn is ready to go if you don’t want to make something new.)
  • Set up a game station: Put puzzles, coloring pages, or trivia in a break room or staff area. Add a prize drawing to boost play.
  • Cheer on your team: Use Cheers for Peers certificates to thank staff for great infection prevention work. Or, create an IIPW Kudos Wall where staff can leave notes or shout outs to celebrate each other.

Target Audience: Foundational & Intermediate IPC Education Level

Guidance, Recommendations, & Regulatory Updates

VIPTA members track guidance and regulation resources to share source documents that guide infection prevention and control practices for public health staff and clinical and non-clinical healthcare personnel.

The date of the regulation or guidance update is included in each post.  Please check linked content to be sure it is the most up to date and recommended practice.

CDC: Conjunctivitis (09/11/2026)
CDC
Any Practice Setting
The CDC recommends excluding healthcare personnel with suspected or confirmed infectious conjunctivitis, including epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC), from work for the duration of their symptoms. These recommendations emphasize strict hand hygiene, appropriate cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and shared medical equipment, and prompt identification and management of cases to prevent transmission and healthcare-associated outbreaks.
CDC: Viral Respiratory Infections (09/11/2026)
CDC
Any Practice Setting
The CDC provides updated recommendations for managing healthcare personnel exposed to or infected with viral respiratory infections, including work restrictions, symptom monitoring, and source control. Asymptomatic exposed personnel may continue working with source control through at least five days after their last exposure, while infected personnel should be excluded from work for at least three days and meet additional symptom-based return-to-work criteria, followed by source control through at least day seven.
CDC: Preventing Respiratory Infections in the Workplace (08/28/2026)
CDC
Any Practice Setting
The CDC provides recommendations to help employers prevent and respond to respiratory infections in the workplace through improved ventilation, engineering controls, environmental cleaning and disinfection, and policies that encourage sick employees to stay home.  These recommendations also emphasize using respiratory illness surveillance data to inform workplace prevention strategies, including masking and remote work, to reduce transmission and protect employee health.

Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)

SHEA

Infection Prevention and Control of Candida auris in Pediatric Settings (6/23/2026) The guidance recommends identifying at-risk pediatric patients through targeted screening, using appropriate isolation and room-placement precautions, and coordinating closely with infection prevention and public health partners when Candida auris is suspected or confirmed. It also emphasizes prevention through meticulous hand hygiene, effective environmental cleaning and disinfection, and careful...

✨Innovative Antimicrobial Stewardship Education in Long-Term Care: A Virginia Beach Success Story

Whitney Rice, MPH, CIC, Healthcare-Associated Infections Epidemiologist at the Virginia Beach Department of Public Health, has taken a proactive and creative approach to antimicrobial stewardship in long-term care settings. Inspired by a successful initiative from another Virginia health district, Rice launched an educational campaign across three types of long-term care facilities: skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities (ALFs), and multicare centers.

The program was designed to reach all key stakeholders (e.g., providers, residents, and families) with tailored educational materials and interactive sessions. These included PowerPoint presentations, printed handouts, activity books, and engaging games such as a microbe matching challenge (to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections) and a Jeopardy-style quiz game for staff. A post-education survey revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback: residents enjoyed the sessions, and staff expressed interest in more in-depth technical content.

Key Educational Messages:

  • For Residents and Families: Emphasis was placed on the importance of taking antibiotics exactly as prescribed, on time and without skipping doses, and understanding that antibiotics are ineffective against viral infections.
  • For Providers: The training focused on resisting pressure to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics and included guidance on managing multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), with a focus on cleaning, disinfection, and Enhanced Barrier Precautions to prevent their spread.

Lessons Learned:

  • Skilled Nursing Facilities: These settings yielded the most effective provider education, likely due to the more consistent presence of medical staff and pharmacists.
  • Assisted Living Facilities: Provider education was more challenging here due to fewer on-site clinicians, but resident engagement was highest, as ALF residents were more able to actively participate in the sessions.
  • Future Plans: These insights will be used to refine and tailor future rounds of education, ensuring that content delivery is optimized for each facility type and audience.

Whitney Rice’s initiative demonstrates how thoughtful, audience-specific education can enhance antimicrobial stewardship and promote responsible antibiotic use in long-term care environments. Her work serves as a model for those seeking to make a meaningful impact in their communities.

IPC Education & Training Library

Search the VIPTA library of curated infection prevention and control (IPC) education and training resources. The IPC Education & Training Resource Library includes state and national resources related to healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial resistance and/or IPC. Visit the VIPTA FAQ page to learn more about VIPTA library content.

 

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