1306 - Prioritizing Educational Needs in Long Term Care Facilities

Session Description: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Project Firstline provides engaging and effective infection prevention and control (IPC) training for millions of frontline health care personnel (HCP) in the United States. Due to rising Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases, along with outbreaks of multidrug-resistant organisms in long-term care facilities (LTCF) throughout Florida, there is a significant need for IPC education of HCP to prevent transmission of Health Care-Associated Infections (HAI).

In response to this need, the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) HAI Prevention Program created the IPC Education Specialist role. The HAI Prevention Program, in partnership with the CDC, conducted its first learning needs assessment (LNA) in June 2021 using the CDC’s LNA tool. The CDC created the tool to determine HCP’s educational needs, confidence level in performing daily IPC practices and innovative instructional methods. The HAI Prevention Program received 137 responses requesting additional education on hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, COVID-19, source control, triage and screening, and environmental cleaning and disinfection. Data was extracted and analyzed from 799 facilities that conducted an Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) between January 2021 to September 2021 to determine specific COVID-19 educational opportunities. Fifty eight percent of those facilities responded “no” to having staff fit tested prior to respirator use in the workplace.

The IPC Education Specialists prioritized LNA responses to create a virtual one-day training and a train-the-trainer respiratory fit testing program for frontline HCP. The education modules in the one-day training focused on the educational support role of the IPC Education Specialist, zoonotic diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases, outbreak containment, antibiotic resistance, respiratory protection program (RPP) elements and successful auditing program elements in LTCF. The train-the-trainer respiratory fit testing program was created to educate LTCF leadership on the required elements of an RPP. To date, 410 individuals have received RPP training.