Winter Reminder: Ice Safety Goes Beyond the Sidewalk

Winter means watching your step outside, scanning sidewalks and parking lots for patches of ice. But in healthcare settings, ice deserves just as much caution indoors as it does outdoors. From ice machines to scoops and storage bins, ice can become a hidden source of germs if it’s not handled carefully.

The CDC Project Firstline “Think Twice About Ice” micro-learn offers an easy-to-use training resource with a facilitator discussion guide and an educational handout.

How to use it

Tie-in to Facility Protocols: Connect the micro-learn’s points to your facility’s infection control policies. For example, clarify who is responsible for cleaning and maintaining ice machines and how often equipment should be disinfected.
Post the Job Aid: Print the one-page job aid and place it on breakroom boards, near staff lounges, or by ice machines. Visual reminders reinforce key actions like washing hands before handling ice and using clean scoops and containers.

Target Audience: Essential IPC Education Level

Guidance & Regulation 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.

ASHRAE: Ventilation of Healthcare Facilities (2/16/2026)

Any Practice Setting

Air Quality

Ventilator

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Ventilation of Healthcare Facilities (02/16/2026) The 2025 edition of ANSI/ASHRAE/ASHE Standard 170 outlines minimum ventilation requirements for health care facilities, emphasizing compliance and best practices for HVAC system design. Key updates include the option for natural ventilation, total outdoor air calculations for combined spaces, and clarified requirements for imaging and outpatient areas.

CDC: Updated 2026 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Surveillance Protocols (January 2026)

CDC

Any Practice Setting

Department of Health

Surveillance

CDC updated the NHSN Patient Safety Component Manual, including Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR) Module protocols and data definitions used for facility reporting. These updates include new documentation and reporting guidance, effective for 2026 surveillance. A summary of updates is available on the CDC website.

APIC: New White Paper on Centralized Health-Associated Infection Surveillance Programs and Micro-Credential to Advance Centralized HAI Surveillance and Patient Safety (1/20/2026)

APIC

Any Practice Setting

Department of Health

Surveillance

This paper offers guidance and expert perspectives on implementing centralized surveillance programs for healthcare-associated infections (HAI) data within health systems, a key step toward more standardized HAI measurement and prevention. It emphasizes improving surveillance accuracy, data use, and patient safety.

VDH: Clinician Letter: Respiratory Illness and Measles Updates for Virginia (1/21/2026)

VDH

Acute Care Hospital

Ambulatory (Outpatient) Care

Department of Health

Outbreak Investigation

Standard Precautions

Vaccination

The clinician letter reports that respiratory illness activity in Virginia has declined but influenza-related hospitalizations remain elevated, and clinicians should continue vaccination, testing, and prompt antiviral treatment for high-risk patients. The letter also warns of ongoing measles cases and exposures in Virginia, urging clinicians to maintain a high index of suspicion, immediately isolate suspected cases, notify public health, and ensure staff and patients have documented MMR immunity.

AHRQ: Toolkit for Improving Skin Care and MDRO Prevention in Long-Term Care Settings

AHRQ

Acute Care Rehabilitation or Long-Term Care Acute Hospital (LTACH)

Assisted Living Facility (ALF)

Behavioral Health Facilities

Hospice and Palliative Care

Nursing Home / Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)

Antimicrobial & Diagnostic Stewardship

Toolkit for Improving Skin Care and Multidrug-Resistant Organism (MDRO) Prevention in Long-Term Care Settings  Clinical topics in the toolkit center around four key strategies to protect skin and prevent infection: (1) Keep skin clean and safe; (2) Reduce MDRO transmission; (3) Use antibiotics wisely; and (4) Clean high-touch surfaces.  The toolkit also includes “teachable moments.” These documents use real-world healthcare scenarios to reinforce concepts related to skin care and infection prevention.

Carilion Clinic

The Carilion Clinic Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) team is engaging patients in the outpatient hand hygiene program. Infection prevention is a team effort, and everyone, including patients, has a role to play. Hand hygiene is the most crucial strategy for preventing infections, and through this program, Carilion is committed to providing the best patient care.

The Patient Feedback Monitoring Program invites patients at ambulatory sites to provide feedback on their providers’ hand hygiene. During their visits, patients receive feedback cards where they can indicate “yes,” “no,” or “unsure” if their provider performed hand hygiene before initiating physical contact. These data are compiled into a Tableau dashboard and shared with sites in real-time to evaluate compliance. The goal of this program is to highlight the importance of hand hygiene in the clinical setting and empower patients to be allies and advocates for infection prevention.

Since the program’s creation, the Carilion Clinic IPC team has been actively engaging ambulatory clinics and promoting the initiative, setting a goal for each clinic to submit 40 observations per month. Collaborating with the marketing and technology departments, the team ensured that the observation tools are accessible. The total number of outpatient hand hygiene observations increased from 12,311 in 2022 to 17,033 in 2023. As of July 2024, outpatient clinics have already collected 11,259 observations, and the year is only half over!