SHEA ORTP Toolkits

13 B.8. Role of Infection Prevention Staff and Direct Care HCP 1. During all phases of incident management, infection prevention staff should: a. Collaborate with and support the HE. b. Continue to perform outbreak surveillance and effectively communicate this information to the HE. c. Provide knowledge and skills regarding infection prevention practices. 2. Direct care HCP should be able to: a. Recognize that clusters of patients or HCP with infection, or a single patient or HCP with a very unusual infection, may represent the start of an outbreak b. Report this to infection prevention and control staff c. Continue to perform standard infection prevention and control measures while awaiting further guidance from infection prevention and control. 3. Direct care HCP designated to provide patient care during an outbreak setting should demonstrate competency in standard and special protocols to respond to and contain pathogens within their scope of practice. C. Special Considerations for Resource-Limited Facilities and Special Patient Populations C.1. Resource- Limited Facilities 1. Resource-limited facilities should use an HVA to assess their capacity to respond to outbreaks, and mitigate deficiencies through identification and training of local experts, collaboration with established infection prevention and control programs, and consultation with HEs. 2. Resource-limited facilities should access local, state/territorial/regional, and federal EMPs and services when developing their EMP. 3. Resource-limited facilities should develop JASs that combine and prioritize HIMT positions according to the facility's capabilities and needs. 4. e HE should participate in exercises/drills, which provide experience in incident management procedures and interaction with facility leaders and staff. C.2. Special Patient Populations 1. Facilities should be aware that pregnant women and immunocompromised individuals may have atypical presentations of illness that could lead to delayed diagnosis, or be at higher risk for severe complications or prolonged contagiousness, all of which may lead to greater potential for cross-transmission to other patients, HCP, and visitors. 2. e EOP should incorporate special considerations for pediatric patients: a. Encouragement of parental/guardian involvement in the care and support of children, whether in person or through videoconferencing technology. b. Safety considerations for parent(s)/guardian(s) to be at the bedside, including: i. Whether the parent/guardian already has been exposed to the pathogen, or is considered immune (e.g. measles)

• Cover
• Overview of Incident Management
• Introduction to Incident Management and the Role of the Healthcare Epidemiologist
• Incident Management Terminology
• Diagram of Incident Management Preparedness Structures
• Hospital Incident Management Team (HIMT) for the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)
• SHEA Guidance and Resources in Outbreak Response: Executive Summary