Download KET HCC EVD 1 Workplan - Knox/East Tennessee Healthcare

Awardee:
Knox/East TN Healthcare Coalition
Submitted By:
HCC Planning Subcommittee
Date:
July 31, 2015
Problem Statement
Recent events have illustrated the importance of a strong infrastructure across the healthcare system to
have the ability to rapidly identify, isolate and inform all that need to know of pathogens of public
health and epidemiologic importance. Examples of such pathogens include Ebola virus, measles, MERSCoV, avian influenza (H7N9, H5N1) and multidrug resistant pathogens such as carbapenem resistant
Enterobacteriaceae (CRE). Maintaining a culture focused on safety and infection prevention is
paramount to ensuring the well-being of the organization staff, patients and visitors as well as the
community as a whole.
State and CMS reporting requirements and value-based purchasing have resulted in many healthcare
organizations focusing energy and time on the surveillance and prevention of a select number of deviceassociated and procedure-associated healthcare associated infections (HAIs) as well as Clostridium
difficile infections (CDI) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Currently, there is
tremendous variability in the safety, infection control programs and infection prevention expertise in
healthcare organizations throughout East Tennessee. Variability can be attributed to a significant
turnover among staff in hospitals and healthcare organizations and a lack of experience and
competency. This variability is even greater among other healthcare providers in the region such as
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and long term care (LTC) settings like nursing homes and assisted
living facilities. In these settings, there simply are not the resources to devote one full-time employee to
tasks such as safety and infection prevention, so they often take a back seat to seemingly more pressing
matters.
Growing a cadre of experts in safety and infection prevention may serve to further cultivate a culture of
safety and infection prevention-minded healthcare workers throughout the region who are better
prepared to respond to a highly infectious disease occurrence. Increasing training and exercises focused
on response to pathogens of public health and epidemiologic importance throughout healthcare
organizations may also serve to cultivate more prepared healthcare workers.
Additionally, specific tangible resources needed for the care of highly infectious disease patients such as
personal protective equipment (PPE), other isolation supplies, and laboratory equipment can be limited
within the healthcare organizations and those resources become in greater demand during events when
the pathogens of public health and epidemiologic importance are within the community. Ensuring there
are sufficient resources available to provide for the initial care of such patients is critical.
Work Plan
Strategies
1. KET HCC develop a close working relationship with local APIC chapter to discuss training and
resource needs.
o Outcome: Sharing of best practices and discussion of current infectious disease trends and
intervention strategies.
 Activity: Appoint an official liaison to serve on both groups to share information (Yr
1).
 Activity: Support and encourage meeting and training attendance by providing
meeting venue, refreshments and material (ongoing).
 Activity: Work with local APIC chapter to discuss how to grow member
representation from other healthcare organizations (Yr 2 - 5).
2. Support and encourage healthcare organization staff to seek certifications in disciplines such as
safety and infection control to increase expertise within the community.
o Outcome: Build enduring competency among the healthcare IPs, safety officers, and other
key individuals.
 Activity: Acquire practice and study materials needed for certification test (Yr 1).
 Activity: Provide funding to support fees for certification tests and prep courses
(ongoing).
 Activity: Provide funding to support and encourage staff to attend meetings and
training/education conferences (ongoing).
3. Provide infectious disease resources and training for all healthcare disciplines
o Outcome: Increased capacity of healthcare personnel to recognize, isolate and identify an
infectious agent.
 Activity: Seek out free and for-fee training resources from authorities recognized as
infectious disease experts (Yr 1).
 Activity: Provide funding for Infection Control Guides to be placed throughout
facilities (Yr 2).
4. Coordinate with TDH, Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) Team to identify gaps in infection control
practices and disease reporting to implement best practices.
o Outcome: Improved compliance with infectious disease reporting requirements and
reduction in HAI among regional facilities.
 Activity: Sponsor trainings for facility IPs related to reportable disease
requirements and HAI prevention measures (Yr 2).
 Activity: Implement best practices where applicable from lessons learned from EAH
technical assistance results obtained by the TDH HAI staff (ongoing).
5. Provide funding for personal protective equipment (PPE), special treatment equipment, and special
laboratory testing equipment necessary to deal with infectious diseases like EVD as needed for
Assessment Hospitals, frontline facilities, and EMS.
o
Outcome: Enduring treatment and testing capability and capacity.
 Activity: Work with the Tennessee Department of Health, Laboratory Services and
local hospital lab managers to develop a list of minimal equipment needed to
support a local infectious disease investigation or outbreak (Yr 2).
 Activity: Using the minimal equipment list, assess the needs of local facilities (Yr 3).
 Implement best practices where applicable from lessons learned from Laboratory
technical assistance results obtained by the TDH HAI staff (ongoing).
6. Participate in infectious disease exercises.
o Outcome: Test capability and capacity to manage infectious diseases
 Activity: Support and encourage all disciplines to participate in exercises involving
practice of infectious disease management (ongoing).
 Conduct exercises involving patients presenting with highly infectious diseases to
staff at all acute care hospitals in the region (ongoing).
 Activity: Conduct an exercise involving an EMS patient transfer scenario to an EAH
(year 1).
Training Plan
Proposed HCC EVD Training Schedule
Northeast HCC, Knox/East TN HCC, Southeast/Hamilton County HCC, and Upper
Cumberland HCC
Each participating HCC will share training resources and open training opportunities to other
HCCs when possible.
1. Name
of
Training
Course
Dr. Gavin
MacgregorSkinner AH
Training and
Assessment
2. Details
3.
Frequency /
Date(s)
4. Locations
5. Number &
Type of
Personnel
Trained
Full-Day:
Provide walkthrough of
processes at AH
and train staff
on PPE and
other items of
interest for
EVD and other
high infectious
diseases.
Year 1 –
Proposed
October or
April
NE HCC,
KET HCC,
SE HCC
Multiple
within
Assessment
Hospital
6. Funding
Potential
Expenses
EVD:
presenter fee,
travel,
participant
meals.
Dr. Gavin
MagregorSkinner HCC
Training
Half Day:
Provide training
on EVD and
other highly
infectious
diseases PPE
and other items
of interest.
Year 1 –
Proposed
October or
April
NE HCC,
KET HCC,
SE HCC, and
Upper
Cumberland
Multiple
HCC
participating
organization
staff.
EVD:
presenter fee,
travel,
participant
meals.
Infection
Prevention
Support
through APIC
Meeting with
APIC chapters
to brainstorm
ideas. Includes
purchasing
APIC
certification
study materials,
testing fees,
training
sessions, etc.
Talk with
Regional EMS
Directors
organizations to
determine
needs. Possibly
sponsor related
training at
Regional EMS
Conferences.
TEEX, LSU,
Emory and
Nebraska visits,
etc.
Year 1-5
NE HCC,
KET HCC,
SE HCC, and
Upper
Cumberland
IP staff at
HCC
participating
organizations.
EVD:
materials,
travel,
participant
meals?
Year 1-5
NE HCC,
EMS staff in
KET HCC,
each
SE HCC, and jurisdiction.
Upper
Cumberland
EVD:
potential travel
and meals
Year 2-5
NE HCC,
Will vary
KET HCC,
depending on
SE HCC, and training type.
Upper
Cumberland
EVD:
potential
training fees,
travel, meals,
and materials
NE HCC,
KET HCC,
SE HCC, and
Upper
Cumberland
EVD:
potential
course fees,
materials,
travel, meals
EMS Support
Continuing
training on
biological
threats, highly
infectious
diseases, and
PPE
Key Staff
Certifications
to gain needed
expertise
Certified
Year 2-5
Healthcare
Safety
Professional,
Certified Patient
Safety Officer,
Certified in
Healthcare
Key staff in
each
discipline
from
participating
organizations.
Safety-Nursing,
Certified
Emergency
Manager
In addition to training planned by the submitting organization, this can include training
courses sponsored by agencies that support the priority capabilities. Include all required
information for these courses if listed. This may include but not be limited to local, state and
federal emergency management, homeland security, fire, law enforcement, etc.
Knox/East TN Healthcare Coalition
Supplemental Ebola Viral Disease 60 Month Work Plan
6