APIC NEws

Spring Conference

"Acing Infection Prevention"

The Spring Conference - Acing Infection Prevention was held on May 5th at the Foxwood Resorts and Casino in Connecticut.

There were 135 attendees, 30 vendors, and 6 sensational speakers !

Topics included Endoscope Reprocessing- AAMI ST91, Construction Do's & Don'ts, Climate Health, Infection Control in Ambulatory Care, Long Term Care - Survey Survival, and What's next - What to expect after the pandemic.

On May 4th we hosted a Members Networking Night - it was a great opportunity to relax, reconnect and bowl with many of the APIC NE Members.

Visit the APIC NE Website to view more pictures from the conference and networking night.

Speaker presentations are also available on the website.

APIC National Conference

A BIG Congratulations to everyone that submitted information to be considered for the APIC National Conference in Orlando.

Winners were announced at the Spring Conference on May 5th, 2023.

In person winners: Lee Ann Quinn and Darlene Morse

Virtual winner: Lisa Magiera

Hope that the conference provides you with great information and we look forward to hearing all about it !

In the current edition of the Prevention Strategists 2023 APIC Award Recipents were announced. Congratulation to Caryl Ryan, RN, MS, BSN as she is the recipient of the 2023 Healthcare Administratior Award. Caryl is the Chief Operating Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, and Vice President for Quality and Patient Safety at UConn John Dempsey Hospital in Farmington, Connecticut.

Click here to read more about Carly and all the other recipients.

Awards will be presented at the APIC National Conference in Orlando starting on June 26th.

Board of Directors

Interested in being on the APIC New England Board? There are several open positions for the next election. Becoming an APIC NE Board members is a great opportunity to help promote, educate, collaborate, and create a network of strong infection preventionist throughout New England.

CLICK here for descriptions of board positions.

Positions open for 2024 are:

Secretary/Membership

Program Director - Elect

Communication Director - Elect

Nominating and Awards Direct - Elect

President - Elect

Submit your Willingness to Serve form before July 31, 2023.

Here is note about being on the board from our current president, Nancy Dupont:

I would like to thank each and everyone of you for remaining as loyal active members in our regional APIC chapter and engaging with the chapter in many ways.

Our membership is currently 481 and is growing consistently. Additionally, we have received tremendous positive feedback from the Maine Infection Preventionists, The Pine Tree Chapter, who are seeking increased collaboration with APIC New England.

Applications for the Shirley Bradley Award is a terrific way to stay engaged by sharing learned knowledge and performance improvement efforts with fellow IP’s as well as receiving the acknowledgment for important work well done. It is also exciting to have the opportunity to present during the regional educational conference to showcase your excellent work!

The impressive attendance during the May Spring Educational Conference and Vendor Fair was remarkable. It was such a fun event packed with rich educational offerings. Trying new and innovative programs such as the networking “bowling and app’s” event was exciting and a success. Congratulations to the Program Director, Carrie Silver and the entire Program Team for the awesome work they did creating this educational experience. Thank you to all members for your participation and your feedback regarding the conference. The feedback is carefully reviewed in order to allow us to provide the Preventionists with what is needed and desired!

Becoming a board member, initially as a relatively new IP, as the Program Director provided me with experience, and true, lasting partnerships and friendships with regional IP’s that I would not have had the opportunity to have known otherwise. Further, serving as President is a true honor and pleasure in a very professional and personally fulfilling way.

I do hope with sincerity, that each and everyone one of our members will consider the true benefit and fulfillment that is gained when serving on the Board of Directors for APIC-New England, the very first chapter of APIC National. Something to be proud of being a part of, wouldn’t you agree?

Sincerely,

Nancy Dupont

Shirley Bradley Memorial Innovation Award 2023

The Shirley Bradley Memorial Innovation Award (SBMIA) is a symbol of distinction. It recognizes APIC NE members who are curious, creative, innovative, novel in approach, and initiators of new techniques/ideas. This award gives members the opportunity to share their noteworthy ideas and innovations.

The SBMIA application can be accessed here. The winners for the SBMIA 2023 will be notified prior to the Fall event and will present their projects at the Fall event. You can read about the SBMIA award and the 2022 winners on the APIC NE website.

Legislative News

You can find the latest Infection Prevention-related legislative bills for New England in the report here.

Click the links in the report to see which of your local elected officials are sponsoring a bill, and where it is in committee process. You can support APIC initiatives by calling or writing to officials in your home district.

Growing the Profession: Yale New Haven Health System

As we all know, the role of an Infection Preventionist varies depending on the healthcare setting; there is not one definition that can explain all that we do. The main goal, I think we can all agree on, is to provide a safe environment for patients to receive care and for the health care professionals providing that care.

I recently had a conversation with two IP’s from the Yale New Haven Health System (YNHHS), Jacqueline Fredrick, MSN, RN, CIC and Paul Gentile, MPH, CIC, FAPIC to talk about what YNHHS is doing to help promote the development of future IP’s.

YNHHS is nonprofit health system that includes Yale New Haven Hospital, Bridgeport Hospital, Greenwich Hospital, Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, and Westerly Hospital, roughly 2500-staffed beds.

They have recently embarked on a partnership with two schools, Yale University and Johns Hopkins University, to offer a 10-week internship program in Infection Prevention. They have adopted the APIC’s Accelerated Internship Program Guide to provide students working on either their bachelors or master’s in public health the framework of infection prevention and control.

They currently have three interns in the program; they are about half way through the 10-week program. They are going to all the delivery networks in the healthcare system, experiencing the differences that each location has to offer. Jackie and Paul meet with them weekly to review the week’s progress, discuss what worked and what did not. The interns keep a checklist of all the applications that are on the APIC Accelerated Program Guide and they (Jackie and Paul) work with them to prioritize those opportunities. The interns have certain deliverables that are part of their school curriculum; they are working on infection prevention projects to help meet those requirements. The interns are immersed in the day-to-day activities that many IP’s experience, each experience giving them more insight on how important infection prevention and control really is.

Prior to the COVID 19 pandemic, many healthcare professions were experiencing shortages. The pandemic has increased stress for many healthcare professionals and this has led to many leaving the profession. The pandemic also put a spotlight on infection prevention and the healthcare professionals that work as IP’s. As the number of healthcare professionals continue to decrease, it is important to look not only at what we can do to help increase the number of healthcare professionals, but also the specialties, like infection prevention and control.

Paul is on the APIC Infection Prevention Academic Pathway Steering Committee that developed the Accelerated Internship Program Guide for Infection Prevention and Control. Both he and Jackie have said that having the interns has been a great experience for not only the interns, but for the staff as well. They are engaged and bring enthusiasm to each hospital location. The internship is an opportunity for those starting out in their healthcare profession to explore the dynamics of infection prevention.

I asked if the goal was to employ any of the interns once, they finish their program, if they had positions available. Jackie said that if positions do become available, they would have opportunity to apply. They agree that the internship is a great way to recruit and hopefully retain infection preventionists. Whether it is for internal positions within the healthcare organization or not, we need to increase the number of infection preventionists.

To learn more about the internship visit the APIC website.

Website Link:

Accelerated Internship - APIC

Paul Gentile, MPH, CIC, FAPIC

Jacqueline Fredrick, MSN, RN, CIC

Growing the Profession: Lifespan Hospitals In Rhode Island - Part 2

Last fall we featured an article about Infection Prevention Associates (IPA) at Lifespan Hospitals in Rhode Island. Maria Gomes, BSN, RN, CIC, Infection Preventionist for Lifespan Quality & Safety shared this follow up for Part 2. You will here from each of them as they share their personal reflections on this new and exciting role. Click HERE for Part 1.

The IPA role at Lifespan was created in January 2021. The System Director of the Infection Control Department, Kerry Blanchard, developed this position with the goal of increasing the Infection Preventionist (IP) workforce while also affording current IPs more face to face time with their customers.

The program began with 3 IPAs. Since then, 1 IPA was promoted into an IP position. The IPAs have been such an asset to the department that it now has 4 IPAs on the team.

The System Infection Control Department at Lifespan proudly employs Megan Diamond, Marvin Martinez, Briana Castro and Daniel Droutman.

The IPAs have varying degrees of education and experience from master’s in public health to medical assistants.

Meg has a unique perspective on the IPA role. For 8 years she was the department’s anchor. She was previously the Administrative Assistant for the System Infection Control Department. In that position she provided support to leadership and IPs while also learning the ins and outs of Infection Control. When asked what she likes most about her

new position as an IPA, she replied, “I like the surveillance piece because I knew what to expect”. Advice for future IPAs: “– the job is overwhelming at first, but you gain so much knowledge and gratitude knowing that you have a part in our patient’s safety!”

Marvin, along with Meg, is one of the first IPAs hired at Lifespan in January 2021. His previous experience is in research, but he also had an interest in Infection Control. For now, he is still undecided about his future career but is enjoying his new role.

“The best thing about being an IPA is how much I have learned about infection control, microorganisms, and surveillance in such a short amount of time. I always say that I learn something new every day, with new scenarios creating new learning opportunities. I love retrieving the data and thinking critically on the root cause of outbreaks.”

Advice for future IPAS: Be patient, trust your colleagues, and communicate as much as possible.

Briana joined the IPA team in March 2022. Her previous experience included working on electronic software for health systems. She quickly became a crucial member of the IPA team putting her computer skills to work. She also has a passion for behavioral health and would like to pursue a career as a behavioral health IP. “What I like the most about being an IPA is the opportunity to learn and gain experience working in Infection Control. I

had no previous experience in IC so this role is the building block to continuing on in this field.”, she candidly stated. Advice for future IPAS: Pay attention to detail, ask a lot of questions, and be open minded to all the different opportunities this field has to offer.

Dan, who joined Lifespan in February 2023, is the newest member to our team. Although he previously worked several years as rehab focused personal trainer, he is no stranger to infection control. Dan spent 2.5 years in New Hampshire’s state COVID response in contact tracing, case investigation, and epidemiology/surveillance branches. He had this to say about his experience thus far. “I think data drives the quality of our work and care for our patients. I think this is a unique job because we are a part of the surveillance aspect that helps identify problems in the hospital units as well as add to the conversations in how we can take better care for employees and patients. After almost 6 weeks on the job, I

can say I am interested in a career as an IP!” Advice for future IPAS: I think the best advice I can give for those interested is to enjoy the process of being a student, know that everyone in the department is friendly and happy to help you along, and there is a lot of information, but the onboarding process will ensure you are confident and ready for the next steps!

Picture from left to right: Daniel Droutman, Briana Castro, Megan Diamond and Marvin Martinez.

Stay up to date on what's happening in the Chapter

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We share relevant infection prevention, infectious disease, and public health news on our Twitter account.
Check our website for updates, board information, and upcoming events in the New England area.

To contact us at anytime, email [email protected]