NACCHO is proud to partner with Project Firstline, a collaborative from the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC). Project Firstline strives to equip public health professionals and frontline healthcare workers with infection control principles and protocols. As a partner of Project Firstline, NACCHO supports these efforts to improve LHDs’ IPC knowledge and practice so that they can effectively partner with healthcare facilities in their jurisdiction.
We are pleased to announce the launch of our Essential Skills Training Series: a combination of virtual and in-person training opportunities for LHD staff. NACCHO is working with Cardea to develop and implement this Essential Skills (i.e., soft skills) Training curriculum for LHDs involved in supporting healthcare IPC activities.
The training series will include five key areas of concentration:
- relationship and collaboration,
- communication,
- emotional intelligence,
- community responsiveness.
- and creating the environment (safe and innovative).
These are all areas LHD staff identified as essential in a previous assessment to inform training needs. The training series events will build upon each other, taking knowledge gained from the previous training activity to inform the next. The series, facilitated by our trainer experts from Cardea, will ensure each topic is holistically approached to address the diverse experiences and skillset of LHD staff. In addition, access to relevant resources and tools will be available for training participants.
If you would like to engage with other local health department (LHD) staff who work in infection prevention and control, access relevant resources, and watch recordings of some of our training events, please join NACCHO’s Essential Skills for Infection Prevention and Control Virtual Community.
The Essential Skills Leadership Academy for IPC Staff In-Person Event took place Wednesday, August 28, 2024, and Thursday, August 29, 2024, in St. Louis, MO.
The August Leadership Academy provided LHD emerging leaders, team leads, supervisors, managers, and organizational leaders a space to use essential skills to cultivate an environment where IPC staff are supported and engaged. The training built on the essential skills covered in this series and the facilitated process focused on leadership’s critical roles in embedding understanding of audiences served and protective factors into the agency’s structure. The training also supported communication, which is crucial for building relationships in IPC work. By the end of the training, attendees were better equipped to prioritize the organization’s role in supporting essentials skills, ultimately leading to a more engaged and productive IPC workforce.
   
By the end of this training, participants were able to:   
- Identify action steps to center audience understanding and engagement from a team or systems level;
- Identify action steps to integrate protective factors that support skill development and employee well-being in healthcare IPC;
- Identify action steps to support staff’s communication skills to build and maintain relationships in IPC work; and
- Describe how they will assess organizational policies and practices to enhance essential skills across the IPC workforce.
Important to know:   
- This was a two-day in-person training session, and attendees were expected to attend both training days.   
- Due to high demand for this training series, we limited the number of staff representing each LHD to two. 
- Attendees were provided with a full scholarship (including the cost of training, flight, hotel accommodation for up to three nights, and per diem).   
- Scholarships and space were limited.
- If additional spots for the training became available, we notified those on the waiting list directly.  
- Registration closed on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. 
- Anticipated scholarship award notification and details regarding next steps was sent on Friday, July 26, 2024.
You can access the agenda for the August Essential Skills training here.
The Applying Essential Skills to Build and Maintain Relationships in IPC Work In-Person Event took place Wednesday, April 17, 2024, or Thursday, April 18, 2024, in San Diego, CA.
The April in-person training will give participants the opportunity to build on the essential skills covered in this series to develop collaborative, lasting relationships. The training event will be facilitated by our partners at Cardea Services, and it will provide interactive opportunities for participants to further discuss, reflect, and practice the essential skills using IPC- related scenarios and content examples.     
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:  
1. Discuss the value of building and maintaining relationships in IPC. 
2. Describe the role that essential skills play in building and maintaining relationships. 
3.
Identify strategies for building and
maintaining collaborative relationships and addressing challenges.  
Important to know:  
1. This was a 6-hour in-person training with an option to attend on April 17 OR 18.   
2. Scholarships and space for each session were limited and was awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. 
3. Due to high demand for this training series, we limited the number of staff representing each LHD to two (2).  
4.
 If additional spots for the training became
available, we notified those on the waiting list directly. 
The Foundations of Communication in IPC Webinar took place Thursday, March 14, 2024, from 2pm-3:30pm ET.
The March Foundations of Communication in IPC webinar discussed how effective communication can help individuals network and converse in IPC settings. The training team will present and review some foundations of communication in IPC settings, including the SBAR framework, Close the Loop approach, and DESC framework.   
By the end of this training, participants were able to: 
- Describe elements of effective communication to support healthcare IPC. 
- Identify approaches to navigating difficult conversations.
We hosted this webinar live and sent access to the recording afterward to those who registered. 
The Building Resiliency in our IPC Work Through Emotional Intelligence Webinar took place Thursday, February 22, 2024, from 2pm-3:30pm ET.
The February Building Resiliency in our IPC Work Through Emotional Intelligence webinar built upon the Essential Skills Training Series by discussing how emotional intelligence (EI) plays a role in IPC work.    
By the end of this training, participants were able to: 
- Describe characteristics of Emotional Intelligence (EI).
- Recognize the impact of Secondary Traumatic Stress on IPC. 
- Identify individual and organizational protective factors. 
The webinar recording can be viewed here.
Our first in-person training of this series took place on Thursday, November 16, 2023, in Atlanta, GA.
This in-person opportunity focused on creating a safe, respectful, and innovative environment for LHDs working with and training healthcare facility staff on IPC, including considerations for professional awareness, efforts to understand the populations served, and trauma-informed learning. The session built upon concepts learned in the October webinar and gave participants the opportunity for further discussion and practice of skills. Because the November training was in-person, we did not record the session. However, resources for all our trainings can be found in our Essential Skills Virtual Community.
Our first webinar of this series took place on Thursday, October 19, 2023, from 2:00 – 3:30 PM ET.
Essential skills, also known as soft skills, are integral for all LHD staff supporting IPC activities in healthcare settings. An understanding of social factors that influence health are fundamental to relationship-building with healthcare facility partners.
By the end of this training, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the value of essential skills as they relate to IPC.
2. Describe social factors that influence health.
3. Understand the basic principles of professional awareness.
This webinar served as an introductory lesson for these essential skills and as a foundation for the in-person training this fall.
