NACCHO Healthcare-Associated Infections, Antibiotic Resistance, and Emerging Infectious Disease Response Projects

NACCHO supports local health departments (LHDs), which serve as chief community health strategists, to advocate and promote the growing role of LHDs in Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial resistance (AR) prevention and response and strengthen their capacity to prevent and control HAI/ARs.

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Name Description Resource Type Year of Publication
Local Health Department Engagement in Health Care–Associated Infection and Antibiotic Resistance Work Published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, this article highlights results from NACCHO's Local Health Department Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antibiotic Stewardship Assessment. Journal Article 2020
Informing Local Health Department and Health Center Partnerships: Creative Collaborations Strengthen Tuberculosis Care in Three Communities NACCHO, through support from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, explored how community health centers and local health departments are collaborating to address TB. NACCHO conducted key informant interviews with health department and health center representatives to inform case studies highlighting innovative examples of health centers and health departments coordinating TB services and programs to improve screening, testing, treatment, and care. Report 2019
NACCHO HAI Initiatives Learn about NACCHO’s healthcare-associated infection projects and initiatives. Fact Sheet 2018
Antimicrobial Resistance & Stewardship: Local Efforts on a Global Issue Learn how NACCHO and its members are working to address antimicrobial resistance and promote antibiotic stewardship. Fact Sheet 2018
Lessons in Infection Control: The Role of Local Health Departments in Prevention, Preparedness, and Response Published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, this article summarizes the findings from NACCHO's LINC Initiative, which funded demonstration sites to enhance coordination in health care and community settings to improve infection control preparedness and response efforts across the nation. Journal Article 2018
One Health: Local Health Department Approaches for Addressing the Interconnectivity of Human, Animal, and Environmental Health Zika Resources for Local Health Departments NACCHO has worked closely with its members for years on various aspects of One Health to support efforts at local health departments (LHDs). This fact sheet helps give more information on NACCHO projects related to One Health. Fact Sheet 2017
Name Date Description
Leveraging Lessons Learned from the SHIELD OC Program to Inform LHD Implementation of a Universal Decolonization Strategy 3/16/2023 Dr. Susan Huang from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) discussed the UCI team’s experience working with 38 healthcare facilities, including 17 hospitals, 18 nursing homes, and 3 long-term acute care facilities that adopted the decolonization strategy. Dr. Huang provided a brief overview of their work, previously discussed on the October 26, 2022 webinar and then focused on strategies and lessons learned. This webinar explored a potential future opportunity for LHD’s to work with Dr. Huang’s team to implement this type of intervention.
The Role of Local Public Health Workforce in Healthcare IPC 2023
NHSN Data Utilization for Local Health Departments 2023
Multi-drug Resistant Organisms: A Primer on CRE/CP-CRE, C.Auris, ESBL & CRAB 2023
Building Local Operational Capacity Video Series 6/3/2022 The playlist focuses on building local operational capacity for infection prevention and control (IPC) in various community and healthcare settings.
Implementation of a Universal Decolonization Strategy through the SHIELD OC Program to Combat MDROs 10/26/2022 The Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-Threatening Dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in Orange County (SHIELD OC) Program, was a CDC-funded public health regional decolonization collaborative to combat the spread of endemic and emerging MDROs across healthcare facilities in Orange County, California. In this webinar, Dr. Susan Huang from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) discusses the UCI team’s experience working with 38 healthcare facilities, including 17 hospitals, 18 nursing homes, and 3 long-term acute care facilities that adopted the decolonization strategy. This program significantly reduced MDROs and resulted in large reductions in the proportion of nursing home residents hospitalized for infection. NACCHO is supporting UCI’s dissemination efforts to train other nursing homes to adopt this effective strategy through its Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antibiotic Resistance (HAI/AR) demonstration site program.
Strategies for Building and Maintaining Relationships with Nursing Homes to Reduce MDROs and COVID-19 Case Burden 7/20/21 Dr. Susan Huang from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) discusses the UCI team’s experience working with 27 nursing homes in Orange County, California to implement the Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-Threatening Dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms in Orange County (SHIELD OC) Program. NACCHO is supporting UCI through its Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antibiotic Resistance (HAI/AR) demonstration site project.
Regional Approach to Infection Prevention and Control 2021
Antibiotic Stewardship and Sepsis: A Balancing Act 1/15/2020 Hosted in December 2019 by Sepsis Alliance, this webinar presented an overview of antibiotic stewardship and recent research regarding antibiotic treatments and sepsis care. Speakers discussed strategies to prevent antibiotic resistance and provide optimal care for sepsis patients; presented the latest CDC guidance and new research on antibiotic stewardship, and shared antibiotic stewardship program experience in hospital settings.
Clinical and Public Health Partnerships for Antibiotic Stewardship 8/15/19 As conveners and chief health strategists in their communities, local health departments (LHDs) can be a valuable partner in supporting the adoption of antimicrobial stewardship practices in these and other settings. This webinar showcased a partnership between Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center (LAC+USC) and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Speakers discussed how the partnership was established and maintained, how it has improved stewardship efforts, challenges and lessons learned, and recommendations for other local health departments and essential hospitals interested in pursuing a similar partnership.
Local Health Department Role in Containment of Novel Resistance 6/20/2019 As issues with drug resistant pathogens have emerged across the country, local health departments (LHDs) have been called on to lead and support the containment of novel or targeted multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). To explore this role, NACCHO hosted a webinar to share the experiences of three LHDs who have been affected by containment events.
Introduction to Social Network Analysis: Broad Overview and a Demonstration of a Novice’s Guide Using R Statnet 6/28/2018 NACCHO hosted a webinar on conducting social network analyses, including what they look like and how they can be applied. Webinar participants were also led through an explanation and live demonstration of a recently developed toolkit from the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, A Novice’s Guide: Social Network Analysis Using R Statnet, which includes basic terminology and steps for conducting a social network analysis using free data analysis software.
Local Health Department Access to the National Healthcare Safety Network 1/24/2018 NACCHO hosted a webinar to discuss the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) —the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection (HAI) tracking system— and upcoming changes to data use agreements that may impact how local health departments can more easily access NHSN data. Speakers included CDC representatives, and staff from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, both of whom shared the process they used to gain access to NHSN data, lessons learned, strategies for success, and current and future uses for the data.

NACCHO developed several tools and resources to help local health departments prevent and control HAIs, including:

    Community Health

    HAI and AR Assessment Findings

    This infographic describing the landscape of healthcare-associated infection (HAI) and antibiotic resistance (AR) activities conducted by LHDs.

    Community Health

    HAI and AR Assessment Findings

    Community Health

    Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control Resource Library

    NACCHO has compiled resources to build LHD staff capacity and address IPC needs in a range of high-risk settings.

    Community Health

    Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control Resource Library

    Community Health

    ICAR Curriculum

    This course is a guide to understanding and conducting Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) consultations.

    Community Health

    ICAR Curriculum

    • Antimicrobial Resistance, Healthcare-Associated Infections, Press Release

    2024 NACCHO HAI/AR Report

    Report Highlights Local Health Department Advancements in Reducing the Threat of Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR)

    2024 NACCHO HAI/AR Report

    • ID Featured, Infection, Prevention, and Control, Infectious Disease, Tools & Resources

    LHD Long-Term Care Infection Prevention and Control Toolkit

    A toolkit to inform and facilitate implementation of best practices in IPC for LHDs, with a focus on LTC.

    LHD Long-Term Care Infection Prevention and Control Toolkit

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    2023 CIC Assessment Survey Findings

    This summary represents key findings about the successes and challenges of obtaining the CIC and its impact on HAI prevention and response activities.

    View Now

    2023 CIC Assessment Survey Findings

    • Healthcare-Associated Infections, Infectious Disease, Tools & Resources

    Video Highlights the Role of LHDs in Combatting HAIs

    Check out the video below and for more resources, look to NACCHO’s newly updated Healthcare-Associated Infections Toolkit for Local Health Departments

    Video Highlights the Role of LHDs in Combatting HAIs

    Community Health

    Addressing Healthcare-Associated Infections

    This engaging two-minute video offers an overview of the potential role(s) LHDs can play in addressing HAIs at the community level.

    Community Health

    Addressing Healthcare-Associated Infections

    Community Health

    Local Health Department (LHD) HAI/AR Strategy

    Access CDCs Local Health Department HAI/AR Strategy Tool

    Community Health

    Local Health Department (LHD) HAI/AR Strategy

    Community Health

    Infection Prevention and Control Champions

    Review stories and resources about past and present Champions and learn how to nominate future Champions.

    Community Health

    Infection Prevention and Control Champions

    NACCHO projects support and build workforce capacity for Local Health Departments (LHDs) and recognize that opportunities and challenges in rural, frontier, and small settings may be unique.  If you are a Rural, Frontier or Small LHD, please join the Rural Café, Rural-Frontier LHD Projects or NACCHO’s Small LHD Virtual Community to receive information specific to your unique needs and to share knowledge and collaborate. LHD’s may sign up directly for the Rural Café with Victoria Freire at [email protected].

    The resources below are specific to help Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs prevent HAIs, AMRs, and/or AMSs.

    The resources below have been developed by the NACCHO team to help your local health department prevent healthcare-associated infections.

    Public Health Programs

    Christina Baum

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    Public Health Programs

    Candice Young

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    Public Health Programs

    Jaclyn Abramson

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    Public Health Programs

    Kimberly Nalley

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