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.
Healthcare Ventilation Can Really Blow
When it comes to infection prevention, what’s in the air matters. This month’s featured resources focus on healthcare airflow and ventilation, breaking down complex concepts into practical tools that are easy to use. Be sure to check the Regulation & Guidance Updates section for new information from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) to stay current on the latest recommendations.
What to Expect
- ASHE Project Firstline Explainer Videos: Short, easy-to-share resource from American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) that help facility managers and frontline staff understand the critical role ventilation plays in keeping healthcare environments safe. (English & Spanish)
- CDC Project Firstline Ventilation Factsheet: A clear, shareable overview of how ventilation supports infection control and helps reduce the spread of germs in healthcare settings. (English & Spanish)
- ASHE Ventilation Quick Guide FAQs: A plain-language reference with concise answers to common questions about ventilation and prevention in the healthcare environment. (English & Spanish)
How to use it:
- Walk-Through with Unit IP Champion: Have a charge nurse or IP do a 5-minute walk of the area looking for best practices and asking staff:
- “What should never be in front of an airflow vent?”
- “What rooms require doors closed?”
- Breakroom Air Facts Board: Post the CDC factsheet with a simple header like: “This room protects patients/residents too. Here’s how the air helps.”
- Play Rank That Risk!: Use airflow issues you found on rounds or create hypothetical risks you want staff to be aware of like a vent blocked by a trashcan, propped open door of an airborne isolation room, or a missing or open ceiling tile. Ask: “What’s the risk here?”
Target Audience: Intermediate IPC Education Level
LeadingAge Virginia
Meet Emily Varvil, Project Manager at LeadingAge Virginia, an association of not-for-profit aging services serving older Virginians across the aging services continuum. She is passionate about empowering adult day centers (ADCs) in Virginia with infection prevention knowledge and resources. Over the last 2 years, LeadingAge Virginia has worked on the creation and implementation of infection prevention template policies for Virginia’s ADCs. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, these centers were largely without formal written IP policies. However, LeadingAge Virginia realized during the pandemic that as participants socialize in close contact with one another, more thorough IP policies were needed.
Emily and her team have set up a website of grant-developed infection prevention and control (IPC) resources and orchestrated three regional half-day workshops for ADC leaders across the state (Williamsburg, Arlington, and Roanoke). During the IPC workshops, Emily reviews the resources available to the ADCs, provides at-home infection prevention resources for ADC participants (see links below), and includes presentations from Health Quality Innovators about antimicrobial stewardship and Virginia Department of Health about infection prevention education and adult learning principles. They also discuss other available IPC resources from VIPTA and the Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center (VIPTC).
All of the grant-developed resources will continue to be available online when the grant funding ends in July 2024 to help centers keep their great infection prevention work going.
LeadingAge Virginia webpage containing the grant-developed IPC resources: https://leadingagevirginia.org/page/AdultDayIPC
“At home” resources for participants and their caregivers: https://leadingagevirginia.org/page/ADCIPC_AtHome
The workshops for ADCs are being funded by the Adult Day Center Model Infection Control and Prevention Policies grant. This grant was awarded to LeadingAge Virginia in 2022 by the Virginia Department of Health Office of Epidemiology, funded by the CDC under Federal Award Identification Number NU50CK00055.
