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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Image of lifeguard in chair with water along the bottom. Text states: Staying Safe in the SPLASH ZONE.

New Resource is making a SPLASH!

Virginia Infection Prevention and Control Training Center (VIPTC) released their first animated video, and it is focused on the risky “splash zone” around healthcare water sources.

Staying Safe in the Splash Zone (3:30)

Target Audience: Essentials IPC education level

Ways to Share These Resources:

  • This quick video, only three and a half minutes long, is perfect to add to facility orientation and to include in annual infection prevention and control updates.
  • You can pair this video with a rounding checklist or splash zone reminder sign that is available from Health Quality Innovation:

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...

Celebrating One Year Without a Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection!

On Thursday October 12, 2023, the Infection Prevention and Nursing leadership teams at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital rounded on the nursing units to celebrate achieving one year without a catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI)!  Cupcakes (yellow frosted, of course) were distributed to all and many thanks shared with the teams. The entire hospital has been instrumental in reducing CAUTIs at Henrico Doctors’ Hospital.

It starts in the Emergency Department with urinary catheters only being placed when absolutely necessary, then responsibility moves to the inpatient units where daily conversations are held to assess the need for the catheter.  Infection Prevention reviews urinalysis and urine culture orders on patients with catheters, ensuring good culture stewardship.  Physicians are engaged with the infection prevention and nursing teams in the conversations about catheter and urine culture necessity. This excellent teamwork has led to a reduction in CAUTIs and the achievement of being one-year CAUTI free! 

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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