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.
Turning Explosive Headlines into Practical Prevention
Cyclosporiasis has been making headlines lately. We can use that attention to spark interest in infection prevention. There is no current evidence that Virginia is experiencing an outbreak, but the recent “explosive” headlines are a good chance to remind healthcare staff about foundational infection prevention best practices.
What to Expect:
Virginia Monthly Morbidity Surveillance Report: See how cyclosporiasis and other reportable diseases compare with past years and seasonal trends in Virginia.
CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) – Health Advisory on Cyclosporiasis: The HAN shares updates about urgent public health events. Sign up for HAN alerts to stay up to date on the latest guidance and infection prevention recommendations.
Project Firstline’s How to Read a Disinfectant Label: Learn how to choose and use disinfectants the right way. Follow the label to make sure your cleaning and disinfection work, no matter which germ is making the headlines.
How to use it:
- Make local data meaningful. Share the Surveillance Report at your infection prevention committee meeting. Compare current disease activity with the usual baseline. Talk about what any changes could mean for your facility.
- Practice before it happens. Use CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) alerts as discussion starters. Ask, “What would we do if this happened here?” Review your plans for reporting, isolation, testing, and communication.
- Host a disinfectant scavenger hunt. Place several disinfectant products around the room. Challenge staff to use the Project Firstline “How to Read a Disinfectant Label” infographic to answer questions from each label. The first team to finish with the most correct answers wins.
Target Audience: Foundational & Intermediate IPC Education Level
Cheers for Every Infection Prevention Win
This month let’s shine a light on the best practices that add up to big wins. Infection prevention is a team sport, and October is a perfect time to celebrate the everyday wins that keep patients, residents, and staff safe. There’s a new Cheers for Peers award certificate you can download and use right now from VIPTA:
A step-by-step guide to spread “cheer” this month.
- Pick a positive infection prevention accomplishment you want to celebrate.
- Customize and print the new Cheers for Peers certificate (or print a few blank ones to take on rounds).
- Share the certificate with a team member who is doing a great job preventing infections in your healthcare setting. Snap a picture if they’re ok with it.
- Brag on them on a unit board, your intranet, a team huddle, or any space meaningful to the recipient.
- (Optional) Share statewide by submitting to the VIPTA Cheers for Peers nomination form.
Cheers in Action: At Henrico Doctors’ Hospital, Infection Prevention has worked very closely with their equipment cleaning techs on hardwiring the process for cleaning and disinfecting of their neonatal intensive care unit isolettes. Infection Prevention awarded the team a Cheers for Peers certificate for all their hard work and collaboration with the IP team!
Looking for inspiration on what wins to celebrate? Take some of these ideas and tailor to your team’s accomplishments.
- Hand Hygiene Hero: Perfect hand hygiene on a spot audit.
- Infection-Free Milestone: A unit that stayed free of healthcare-associated infections for the month, six months, or a year.
- Oral Care All-Stars: A unit has >90% oral care compliance to lower healthcare-associated pneumonia risk.
- Environmental Services Excellence: Terminal clean passes (checklists or fluorescent-gel checks).
- “Wipe Before We Walk” Award (Facilities/Maintenance): Tools cleaned and disinfected after work in a patient room.
- Breathe-Easy Respiratory Infection Prevention Champions: Proper circuit handling and equipment disinfection across the board.
Try it and tell us how it went: Print a certificate, celebrate a win this month, and share your story. Submit a nomination to VIPTA and let us know what you tried, what worked, and how your team reacted. We cannot wait to cheer with you!
