Healthcare-Associated Infections: Resources for Local and Tribal Health Departments
The information on this webpage is intended to connect local and Tribal health departments (LTHDs) with educational materials and resources on detecting and responding to healthcare-associated infections (HAI).
LTHD staff play an essential role in the surveillance of HAIs, including reportable multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). LTHDs can also serve as a resource to health care facilities and other partners in their jurisdictions.
LTHD Infection Prevention and Control workshops
Join the Wisconsin HAI Prevention Program for virtual workshops that address HAI and infection prevention and control (IPC) hot topics for LTHDs. Not an expert? No problem! These workshops are designed to provide LTHD staff with foundational knowledge on HAI and IPC topics. Workshops also provide attendees with opportunities to practice and apply the skills they learn with other LTHD staff from across Wisconsin. Workshops will be offered quarterly and will be announced on this webpage when registration is available.
June 2025 Virtual LTHD IPC Workshop
Date: June 17, 2025
Time: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Topic: Healthcare-associated nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) outbreak response case study
This interactive workshop will walk participants through a case study involving a healthcare-associated NTM outbreak. The case study will highlight infection risks in health care settings and walk through outbreak investigation steps.
Learning objectives
- Describe conditions that may lead to an outbreak of healthcare-associated NTM in health care settings.
- Understand the importance of evaluating potential water-related exposures and risks in health care settings.
- Identify pertinent infection control breaches, including medication preparation, injection safety, and device reprocessing.
- Identify appropriate guidelines for use when developing recommendations to remediate infection control breaches.
- Describe when and how to conduct patient notifications in response to outbreaks or clusters of healthcare-associated NTM infections.
Registration for this workshop is required.
Register for the June 2025 IPC Workshop
Infection Prevention Facilitated Discussion Guides
Infection Prevention Facilitated Discussion Guides, P-03583, created by the Wisconsin HAI Prevention Program, may be used by LTHDs to help provide education on various infection prevention topics.
What's included in each guide
Each guide includes:
- Talking points to engage LTHD staff and health care partners in a short, focused, and educational discussion.
- Facilitator notes that provide tips for the facilitator leading the discussion.
- Action steps for LTHDs, including additional activities LTHDs can do to strengthen, reinforce, and mobilize ideas discussed in the guide.
Discussion guides by topic
When bacteria and fungi become resistant, antimicrobials no longer work. Resistant germs can also pass their resistance on to other germs. It is important that LTHDs, health care providers, community members, and state and federal partners work together to improve the way we prescribe and use antimicrobial drugs. These actions are referred to as “antimicrobial stewardship." This guide helps LTHDs facilitate discussions about antibiotic resistance and outlines activities that LTHDs can do to promote antibiotic stewardship.
Objectives
- Introduce the concept of antimicrobial resistance and stewardship.
- Understand key terms.
- Discuss ways LTHDs can get involved with antimicrobial stewardship efforts.
View and download the antimicrobial stewardship guide, P-03583 (PDF)
Improper cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization processes in health care facilities have led to infection control breaches, exposures, and outbreaks. While cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization may look different depending on the setting, there are specific processes that must be followed. This guide provides LTHDs with a short overview of cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization processes, as well as sample questions for discussing current partnerships with health care partners in the LTHD’s jurisdiction.
Objectives
- Introduce the concept of cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization in a health care setting.
- Discuss cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization methods and best practices.
View and download the cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization guide, P-03583a (PDF)
Enhanced-barrier precautions (EBPs) are an infection control intervention designed to reduce transmission of MDROs in nursing homes. This guide provides LTHDs with a short overview of EBPs, including potential challenges for implementing EBPs in nursing homes. The guide also includes sample discussion questions on how LTHDs can encourage nursing homes to implement EBPs and address barriers for EBP implementation.
Objectives
- Introduce the concept of EBPs in health care settings.
- Learn which circumstances warrant implementation of EBPs.
- Share resources for implementing EBPs.
HAIs are infections that occur after receiving health care in any setting, including hospitals, nursing homes, outpatient surgery centers, or rehabilitation facilities. Health care facilities monitor HAIs through surveillance plans. Surveillance is a method of collecting data, analyzing intervention effectiveness by reviewing data, and taking appropriate action to reduce risk. This guide provides LTHDs with an overview of HAI surveillance and provides sample discussion questions to help the LTHD assess their current processes for supporting health care facilities in the event of an HAI investigation or outbreak.
Objectives
- Introduce HAIs, including device-associated infections and surgical site infections.
- Introduce HAI surveillance, methods, and purpose.
View and download the HAI surveillance guide, P-03583c (PDF)
Germs that cause infections can spread through touch, aerosol droplets, splashes or sprays from water or body fluids, and breaks in the skin or wound. Infection prevention practices (such as hand hygiene, personal protective equipment use, isolation precautions, and environmental cleaning) can be used to interrupt links in the chain of infection and prevent germs from spreading. This guide provides an overview of infection risks in the health care environment, as well as infection prevention and control best practices that help address those risks. The guide also provides sample discussion questions to help LTHDs assess potential infection risks within their buildings (such as clinic areas, waiting rooms, and meeting rooms).
Objectives
- Describe the “chain of infection.”
- Introduce common reservoirs where organisms live.
- Identify common pathways through which germs spread.
- Describe ways to break the chain to prevent diseases from spreading.
Organisms can spread through direct and indirect transmission. Precautions are put in place to prevent the transmission of pathogens in health care settings. This guide provides an overview of standard and transmission-based precautions. The guide also provides sample questions for LTHDs to lead discussions on everyday actions used to prevent the spread of infections.
Objectives
- Introduce the use of standard and transmission-based precautions.
- Share resources for implementing precautions by transmission type.
View and download the standard and transmission-based precautions guide, P-03583e (PDF)
Safe injection practices are a part of standard precautions and should be followed to prevent the transmission of bloodborne pathogens to patients and health care personnel. This guide provides an overview of safe injection practices and sharps safety. The guide also provides sample questions for LTHDs to lead discussions.
Objectives
- Introduce bloodborne pathogens.
- Share key safe injection practices.
- Share sharps safety best practices.
View and download the safe injection practices and sharps safety guide, P-03583f (PDF)
HAI and Infection Prevention Training Workbooks
HAI and Infection Prevention Training Workbooks, P-03373, cover a number of topics in a variety of different formats to help LTHDs increase their knowledge on HAIs and infection prevention and control practices. Each workbook includes self-paced learning activities and links to additional helpful resources related to a given topic.
- Workbook 1. Introduction to HAIs and Infection Prevention (PDF)
- Workbook 2. Prevention and Control of Infectious Agents (PDF)
- Workbook 3. Laboratory, Surveillance, and Epidemiologic Investigations (PDF)
- Workbook 4. Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (PDF)
- Workbook 5. Environmental Infection Risks (PDF)
- Workbook 6. Disinfection and Sterilization (PDF)
MDRO education and training resources
MDROs are an ongoing threat to patient health and safety. The potential for rapid spread in health care facilities and difficulties of treating infections make it critically important for public health to conduct surveillance across settings and promote aggressive infection control measures.
The resources below can help LTHDs with MDRO surveillance and follow-up:
- Wisconsin Protocol for Local and Tribal Health Departments: WEDSS Surveillance and Response for Targeted Multidrug-Resistant Organisms, P-03263 (PDF): This guide can help LTHDs interpret lab results and determine the appropriate follow-up needed.
- Reportable MDRO Follow-Up: Reference Guide for Local and Tribal Health Departments, P-03263a (PDF): This short reference guide is intended to provide LTHDs with a brief overview of reportable MDROs as well as quick tips for interpreting lab results and determining appropriate follow-up.
- Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS) case investigation forms tutorials:
- Completing WEDSS Case Investigation Forms for Carbapenemase-Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CP-CRAB) and Carbapenemase-Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CP-CRPA)
- Completing WEDSS Case Investigation Forms for Carbapenemase-Producing Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE)
- Completing WEDSS Case Investigation Forms for Candida auris
- Wisconsin HAI Prevention Program Reportable MDROs webpage: This webpage lists the MDROs that are currently reportable in Wisconsin as well as prevention, surveillance, testing, and reporting resources for health care facilities and LTHDs.
Education videos for LTHDs
Watch prerecorded educational videos and tutorials on HAI prevention, surveillance, and response for LTHDs.
- Wisconsin HAI Prevention Program: Primer on Antibiotic Stewardship
- Wisconsin Clinical Laboratory Network: A Laboratory Response Network and So Much More
- Wisconsin HAI Prevention Program: National Healthcare Safety Network Background Information for Local and Tribal Health Departments
Resources from partners
- National Association of County & City Health Officials' Infection Prevention & Control Quick Start Guide: (PDF) This resources includes background information on the role of local and Tribal health departments in infection prevention and control as well as infection prevention and control education.
- CDC's Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) Outbreak Investigation Toolkit: This web-based toolkit provides resources and guidance for LTHDs on systematically collecting data during an outbreak.
HAI information for public health and health care partners
Looking for more information on HAIs and infection prevention? Find additional resources, tools, and guidance for partners on our landing webpage.
Questions about HAIs? Contact us!
Phone: 608-267-7711 | Fax: 608-261-4976