Virginia Infection Prevention & Control Training Alliance (VIPTA)

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.

More about VIPTA

 

Upcoming Events

View Calendar
My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene Game

Navigating the Hand Hygiene Galaxy

Hand hygiene remains one of the most important — and powerful — actions we can take to protect patients and ourselves. This year, in honor of World Hand Hygiene Day on Monday, May 5, 2025, we’re inviting you to chart a course for cleaner hands — and a healthier galaxy — with some stellar tools.

What to Expect: To support your hand hygiene efforts this May, here are a few resources that are out of this world:

  • WHO Hand Hygiene Game: Step into a futuristic hospital in space and stop the spread of infections by completing all five levels in this interactive, free training game.
  • CDC Hand Hygiene Program Video Series: A four-part educator video series built around the “4 Es” — Engage, Educate, Empower, and Evaluate — providing plain language tools and strategies to invigorate hand hygiene teaching.
  • VDH Hand Hygiene In-Service Slide Deck: Ready-to-use PowerPoint training that covers essential hand hygiene practices will get you ready for training in the blink of an eye. It is one of many VDH hand hygiene resources.

How to Use These Resources: 

  • Host a Hand Hygiene Challenge: Encourage staff to compete to complete all five levels of the WHO Hand Hygiene Game. Participants who complete the mission can be entered into a prize drawing — and help boost team engagement!
  • Inspire Champions with the CDC Video Series: Use CDC hand hygiene program videos to energize your Champions of Healthcare Infection Prevention (CHIP) and prep them to deliver quick, relatable education to peers. Turn everyday moments into hand hygiene wins across your facility.
  • Expand World Hand Hygiene Day into a Week with the VDH Slide Deck: Pull key slides to create daily huddles leading up to May 5th. A quick message each day builds momentum, keeps clean hands top of mind, and turns a single event into a weeklong celebration.

No matter where your healthcare journey takes you — from bedside to breakroom — navigating the hand hygiene galaxy starts with clean hands.

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.

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.
APIC: Updated Monkeypox Playbook (11/07/2025)
APIC
Acute Care Hospital
Ambulatory (Outpatient) Care
Department of Health
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
Mobile Clinic
Outbreak Investigation
Patient and Family Engagement
Surveillance
Recent updates to the Monkeypox Playbook include the CDC’s Traveler Health Notice advising enhanced precautions and an updated Risk/Triage Scale recommending increased awareness. Additional information covers the current global situation of monkeypox and the latest outbreak reports.
SHEA: Multisociety Guidance for Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes (10/20/2025)
SHEA
Acute Care Rehabilitation or Long-Term Care Acute Hospital (LTACH)
Assisted Living Facility (ALF)
Hospice and Palliative Care
Nursing Home / Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
The guidance offers recommendations for infection prevention and control (IPC) in nursing homes to address challenges including medical acuity and the rise of multidrug-resistant organisms. It emphasizes the importance of IPC leadership, training, and adherence to precautions while also considering the balance between maintaining a home-like environment and ensuring effective infection prevention measures.
SHEA/APIC: Multisociety Guidance for Infection Prevention and Control in Nursing Homes (10/28/2025)
APIC
SHEA
Acute Care Rehabilitation or Long-Term Care Acute Hospital (LTACH)
Assisted Living Facility (ALF)
Hospice and Palliative Care
Nursing Home / Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF)
Cleaning and Disinfection
Employee/Occupational Health
Hand Hygiene
High Level Disinfection
Outbreak Investigation
Physical Environment / Environment of Care (EOC)
This guidance document updates the 2008 SHEA/Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) guideline: Infection Prevention and Control in the Long-Term Care Facility and is intended to assist nursing homes in the United States in defining and implementing their infection prevention and control (IPC) programs and practices. Recommendations and implementation suggestions address IPC leadership, staffing, and resources, healthcare personnel and residents‘ adherence to precautions and effective hand hygiene, outbreak preparedness, training, occupational health, cleaning and disinfection in the care environment, and the involvement of IPC in the facility.
VDH Clinician Letter: Updates to CDC Immunization Schedule (10/10/2025)
CDC
VDH
Ambulatory (Outpatient) Care
Department of Health
Pediatric / NICU
Vaccination
This clinician letter outlines updates to immunization schedules for MMRV (measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella) and COVID-19 vaccines, emphasizing their essential role in community health and safety in Virginia. It discusses the new guidelines, including the separate administration of the MMR and varicella vaccines for children under 4 years, the COVID-19 vaccine's availability for individuals aged 6 months and older, and the importance of verifying insurance coverage prior to vaccination.

Infection Prevention Made Fun: Creative Ideas for Staff Involvement

This month we are celebrating Reenaba Chudasama and her great infection prevention education at Jones & Cabacoy Veterans Care Center (JCVCC), part of the Department of Veterans Services. Reenaba attended the VDH Infection Prevention Educator Roadshow and loved the creative ideas for education that were shared there. She used some of these ideas at her long-term care and skilled nursing facility to get the frontline staff engaged in activities involving infection prevention and control. Here are some of the fun activities they did:

  • “Did You Clean Your Hands”: Staff used GloGerm to assess the quality of their hand washing skills. Once they successfully removed the GloGerm, they had 30 seconds to fill up a bottle of hand sanitizer and kept however much they were able to fill as a reward.
  • “Magic of Memes”: Staff created infection prevention memes and posted them on their communication channels.
  • “Who Let the Bug Out”: Staff dressed up in germ costumes and paraded around the facility, asking staff members and residents how they would handle them.
  • “Basket-Call” game: Staff were presented with simulated dirty linen, regular trash, and regulated medical waste and had to dispose of it correctly in given time.
  • “Cause it’s Everyone’s Business”: Each department made a two-to-five-minute video showing how their department contributes to infection prevention. The facility’s maintenance department did one about plumbing and how they help reduce waterborne diseases!
  • “Golden Pen Award”: Award given for the best infection prevention notes and nursing assessment. The winner got a shout out on the facility’s communication channel.

🌟Awesome job, Reenaba, for all the ways that you’ve inspired your staff to take an active role in infection prevention!

📢Let the VIPTA Cheers for Peers team know if you decide to follow Reenaba’s lead and try out some of these fun infection prevention education activities in your workplace!

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.

 

Connect With VIPTA

Last Updated: June 30, 2025