Leadership and Professional Development
Concurrent Education Session - 60 minutes
Lori Handy, MD, MSCE
Assoc Medical Director, Infection Prevention
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nothing to disclose
.jpg "Sara Townsend, MS-HQS, CIC photo")
Sara Townsend, MS-HQS, CIC
Infection Prevention Supervisor
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Nothing to disclose
.jpg "Adebisi Adeyeye, DHA, RN, CIC, FAPIC photo")
Adebisi Adeyeye, DHA, RN, CIC, FAPIC
Director, Infection Prevention
VA NY Harbor Health Care System
Monroe College
Mohegan Lake, New York
Nothing to disclose
The majority of patients interact with healthcare through ambulatory settings, such as primary care and subspecialty offices, but IPC practices tend to be focused more on inpatient. Healthcare systems often find it challenging to dedicate IPC resources to ambulatory settings because of historical precedence, regulatory needs, and perceived benefit.
This session demonstrates how a pediatric network of 30 primary care sites, 13 specialty care sites, and 4 ASCs developed a comprehensive IPC program. Before the structured ambulatory IPC program, IPs in their system had portfolios of both inpatient and ambulatory responsibilities, in addition to site visits, skills fairs, and on-call available. Processes were individualized to each facility, limiting efficiency.
In the development of the structured ambulatory IPC program, this system increased the accessibility of relevant procedural and educational materials, provided consistent messaging among IPs, and developed streamlined methods of communication between our department and ambulatory sites.
Participants will learn details about the multi-year program implementation, including resource management, department restructuring, and assessment tools. Specific tactics, such as increasing use of respiratory etiquette stations and improving communication with IPC for pertussis exposures, will be discussed. This session will provide insider into how this new program improved communication, grew key partnerships, and provided targeted support elevating the importance of IPC in the expanding ambulatory setting.