Infection Surveillance - Process & Outcome

Course overview

An infection control program is required of all healthcare providers to minimize the spread of both community-acquired and healthcare-associated infections. An effective infection control program must include a process of tracking and analyzing infection data. This course will focus on the infection control surveillance process and the use of data to improve outcomes. Infection preventionists within long-term care facilities (LTCF) must follow accepted surveillance techniques, most notably from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and apply lessons learned to the facilitys overall infection prevention and control program (IPC). This course will review how to apply the typical findings of infection surveillance to the clinical setting to improve resident outcomes, mitigate infection-related risks, and reduce transmissible infections in the long-term care setting. The goal of this course is to provide nursing and infection prevention professionals in long-term care with introductory knowledge regarding healthcare-associated infection surveillance principles. Disclaimer: Please refer to federal and state guidelines for surveillance and reporting of healthcare-associated infections in long-term care settings.