State and Local Health Department Collaborative for Infection Prevention Support

Session Description: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted vulnerabilities within congregate care settings, which have historically been under-resourced and struggle to comprehensively prepare for and respond to infectious health issues. Local health departments (LHDs) have varied experience levels related to infection prevention (IP) and often lack knowledge of IP practices. Our state health department established a collaborative program to equip participating LHDs with the tools and resources needed to assist congregate care settings with these issues by having internal IP support. This collaboration will increase IP-based knowledge and workforce in the state, establish clear points of contact for communications, strengthen collaborative relationships with congregate care settings, expedite response to facility concerns in a trusted capacity, and lead to better health outcomes for the state’s residents.

This presentation will review the necessity of engaging LHDs with IP and how they can serve congregate care settings within their jurisdiction, the framework of the program, including the use of the Hub-and-Spoke model, the creation and implementation of a roadmap with milestones, how to engage LHDs and congregate care settings for participation, and additional lessons learned. Audience members targeted include local and state health department staff, congregate care staff, and individuals interested in developing an IP training program.