Virginia Infection Prevention & Control Training Alliance (VIPTA)

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Wound care image sourced from Canva

Wrap It Up: Infection Prevention Wound Care Resources

We’ve done the wrapping and you get to open the educational package! Whether you’re refreshing staff education, strengthening your wound care program, or looking for practical teaching tools, these free resources are ready to help you put infection prevention into practice.

What to Expect:

Wound Care Educational Handout: A colorful, easy-to-follow visual resource that highlights key infection prevention practices before, during, and after wound care.

TRAIN Virginia Wound Care Series: Start with “VDH: Wound Care Infection Risks and Your Infection Prevention Program” (Course ID 1127475) and continue through the full series exploring infection prevention principles, common infection transmission risks, and evidence-based practices through interactive scenarios and knowledge checks.

VDH Wound Care Infection Prevention and Control Guidance & Observation Tool: A ready-to-use observation checklist that you can use for audits, competency validation, and helps standardize wound care practices across your facility.

How to use it:

  • Observe before you educate. Use the observation tool to identify your team’s strengths and opportunities, then tailor education to the practices you actually see instead of guessing where knowledge gaps exist.
  • Make observations less intimidating. Use the checklist as a coaching tool rather than an audit, creating opportunities for real-time feedback and discussion.
  • Who else should be trained? Anyone who assists during wound care, including nursing assistants and other healthcare personnel who provide an extra set of hands, should understand infection prevention practices that help protect the patient.

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)

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...


Behind the scenes peek of VPM videographers and actor preparing to do a nasal swab on a nursing home resident with dementia (not seen).

Ready for Anything: EVMS and Compassionate Crisis Care

The COVID-19 pandemic showed us the tough challenges faced by long-term care residents and their caregivers. It also led to a great team effort that we’re excited to share. Dr. Paul Aravich from Eastern Virginia Medical School of Macon and Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University led a group from all over Virginia to create the Compassionate Crisis Care video series.

These videos are a valuable tool for healthcare workers, caregivers, and emergency responders. They teach how to provide compassionate care during emergencies like disasters and pandemics. The videos offer practical techniques for handling tough situations with empathy and skill. The Compassionate Crisis Care team has made a big impact by focusing on this important part of infection prevention and control.

We encourage you to watch these helpful videos and celebrate the Compassionate Crisis Care team’s important work. Congratulations to everyone involved for their outstanding contribution to improving crisis care!

Image: Behind the scenes peek of VPM videographers and actor preparing to do a nasal swab on a nursing home resident with dementia (not seen).


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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