Spotlight on Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital
This month, we’re highlighting Lake Taylor Transitional Care Hospital in Norfolk, VA—a 296‑bed facility offering multiple levels of care, including skilled nursing rehabilitation, long‑term care, an adult ventilator unit, and a 25‑bed pediatric unit caring for medically complex children who often require ventilators, tracheostomies, feeding tubes, and continuous monitoring.
When a pediatric patient transferred to an acute‑care hospital for a respiratory infection and grew carbapenem‑resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) in Spring of 2025, Lake Taylor quickly identified a second child in their own facility with the same organism. In response, the team launched unit‑wide point prevalence testing every two weeks. Over seven rounds, six asymptomatic children tested positive. All were promptly cohorted to reduce transmission risk.
The facility conducted a thorough review of hand hygiene practices, signage, and supply placement. They introduced ATP testing to validate environmental cleaning and switched to a disinfectant with a shorter contact time to improve compliance. According to Infection Preventionist, Carol Evans and VP of Patient Services, Karen Wilhelm, these changes strengthened staff confidence and consistency.
Collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health and the CDC was central to their success. Leadership remained deeply engaged, implementing recommendations swiftly. The team at Lake Taylor spoke highly of the mentorship they received from VDH throughout the process, and Devonne Winston from VDH, who nominated the Lake Taylor team for this month’s Cheers for Peers, says “They led by example” of the leadership team.
On October 17, Lake Taylor hosted a highly successful education event with 106 participants from across the facility, recognizing that this education was important in the adult units as well. Staff practiced hand hygiene using GloGerm, completed PPE donning and doffing demonstrations, learned about multiple MDROs, and participated in an environmental cleaning station.
Kudos to the Lake Taylor team for their rapid, coordinated response and commitment to protecting patients throughout the facility.
✨Check out the McKnight Prize for Healthcare Outbreak Heroes – a great way to cheer on a peer nationally!
Bug of the Month
The infection prevention team at Ballad Health continually seeks new and creative ways to educate more than 13,500 team members across 20 hospitals on important infection prevention topics. Supporting this effort is Krista Hess, an infection preventionist at Russell County Hospital in southwest Virginia, who leads the Bug of the Month Committee.
With full creative control, the committee develops a one-page educational flyer each month that is shared by leaders, highlighted during huddles, and featured in internal communication, such as Ballad Health News. Now celebrating its two-year anniversary, Bug of the Month continues to gain momentum. October’s “Say Boo to the Flu” achieved the highest engagement yet.
Over the past two years, the Bug of the Month Committee has spotlighted topics such as C. difficile, Candida auris, hand hygiene, and environmental cleaning. Congratulations to Krista Hess and the entire Ballad Health team for championing innovative approaches that keep team members informed on vital infection prevention topics!
Effective Partnerships, Safe Communities
Old Dominion Rehabilitation and Nursing demonstrated exceptional commitment to resident and community safety during recent healthcare-associated infection and multidrug-resistant organism outbreak responses. Andrea Hart, Infection Preventionist and Sheila Clements, Director of Nursing, provided strong, effective leadership, working seamlessly with local and regional health departments to quickly address infection control gaps, implement public health guidance, and strengthen prevention practices.
Transparent communication and a collaborative mindset were key to the facility’s success, enabling timely, coordinated, and highly effective outbreak containment. This partnership also fostered lasting improvements in infection prevention that extend well beyond the immediate responses.
The VDH Eastern Region Infection Preventionist worked closely with the facility and commended its leadership for their professionalism, adaptability, and dedication to safety. Through consistent communication, on-site and remote support, and shared problem-solving, the team implemented evidence-based interventions and piloted new tools to enhance outbreak readiness.
The success of these outbreak responses underscores the power of strong partnerships between long-term care facilities and public health teams. Old Dominion Rehabilitation and Nursing’s collaborative approach exemplifies excellence in long-term care leadership and a shared commitment to protecting residents, staff, and the community.
Taking Antimicrobial Stewardship Beyond Hospital Walls: Community Outreach for Smarter Antibiotic Use
In an innovative effort to extend antimicrobial stewardship beyond the hospital setting, Carilion Clinic’s Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) team launched a community outreach initiative aimed at educating families about appropriate antibiotic use. Patient expectations play a key role in outpatient antibiotic prescribing. Meaningful conversations between patients and providers around antibiotic necessity are needed.
Carilion aimed to deliver accessible messaging through visually engaging billboards across southwest Virginia, reinforcing public health messages such as “Antibiotics don’t work on viruses” and “Antibiotics aren’t always the answer when you are sick.” Complementary posters in clinic waiting rooms provided patients and families with quick education, addressing common misconceptions about antibiotics for viral infections and raising awareness about potential antibiotic harms.
To further support their youngest patients, the AMS team partnered with a large pediatric practice to distribute “fever care kits” to improve at-home temperature tracking and symptom relief. Each kit contained a thermometer, simple symptom relief items, and an educational bookmark on fever and infections. These tangible resources helped empower caregivers to manage mild illnesses confidently at home and understand when antibiotics and healthcare visits might be unnecessary.
Early feedback from clinicians has been overwhelmingly positive, many of whom reported that these initiatives facilitated more productive conversations with patients about antibiotics. By bringing stewardship principles directly into the community, this is one more way Carilion’s AMS team is helping to reduce antibiotic misuse, slow the development of resistance, and preserve antibiotics’ effectiveness for future generations.
✨Alex Minero Shines at Loudoun’s First SNF Symposium
We are thrilled to celebrate Alexander Minero, the Northern Regional Infection Preventionist working on behalf of the Virginia Department of Health (VDH). In November, Alex participated in Loudoun County’s very first Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF) Symposium. This inaugural event, held in partnership with Inova Loudoun Hospital, brought together skilled nursing facilities, hospital partners, and public health professionals to build stronger connections and spark meaningful conversations about shared challenges and successes.
Alex brought his signature energy and educator magic to the day, leading two engaging sessions. The first, “Standard Precautions, Contact Precautions, Enhanced Barrier Precautions, Oh My!” invited participants to test their knowledge through interactive techniques that kept everyone on their toes. His second session, “Infection Prevention and Control Assessments and Site Visits,” helped demystify the assessment process and gave facilities confidence to strengthen their infection prevention practices.
When asked about his preparation for the event, Alex shared, “I think prep is definitely key. I reviewed my slides several times and even timed myself. Also prepping for questions helps because you are not caught off guard.” That focus on readiness showed. Participants were learning, laughing, and leaning in the entire time.
What makes Alex shine is his commitment to hands-on learning. Whether he is facilitating a regional training, conducting education in English or Spanish, troubleshooting environment of care problems on a site visit, or supporting a facility with tricky infection prevention questions, he brings positivity, collaboration, and a genuine desire to help teams succeed.
Thank you, Alex, for your enthusiasm, leadership, and dedication to the facilities you serve. Your support helps make our long-term care and healthcare communities stronger, safer, and better connected.
If your facility is interested in partnering with Alex or any of the VDH Regional Infection Preventionists, visit https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/haiar/ip/
Cheers to you, Alex! Keep up the amazing work.
✨Innovative Antimicrobial Stewardship Education in Long-Term Care: A Virginia Beach Success Story
Whitney Rice, MPH, CIC, Healthcare-Associated Infections Epidemiologist at the Virginia Beach Department of Public Health, has taken a proactive and creative approach to antimicrobial stewardship in long-term care settings. Inspired by a successful initiative from another Virginia health district, Rice launched an educational campaign across three types of long-term care facilities: skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities (ALFs), and multicare centers.
The program was designed to reach all key stakeholders (e.g., providers, residents, and families) with tailored educational materials and interactive sessions. These included PowerPoint presentations, printed handouts, activity books, and engaging games such as a microbe matching challenge (to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections) and a Jeopardy-style quiz game for staff. A post-education survey revealed overwhelmingly positive feedback: residents enjoyed the sessions, and staff expressed interest in more in-depth technical content.
Key Educational Messages:
- For Residents and Families: Emphasis was placed on the importance of taking antibiotics exactly as prescribed, on time and without skipping doses, and understanding that antibiotics are ineffective against viral infections.
- For Providers: The training focused on resisting pressure to prescribe unnecessary antibiotics and included guidance on managing multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), with a focus on cleaning, disinfection, and Enhanced Barrier Precautions to prevent their spread.
Lessons Learned:
- Skilled Nursing Facilities: These settings yielded the most effective provider education, likely due to the more consistent presence of medical staff and pharmacists.
- Assisted Living Facilities: Provider education was more challenging here due to fewer on-site clinicians, but resident engagement was highest, as ALF residents were more able to actively participate in the sessions.
- Future Plans: These insights will be used to refine and tailor future rounds of education, ensuring that content delivery is optimized for each facility type and audience.
Whitney Rice’s initiative demonstrates how thoughtful, audience-specific education can enhance antimicrobial stewardship and promote responsible antibiotic use in long-term care environments. Her work serves as a model for those seeking to make a meaningful impact in their communities.