As the healthcare community continues to grapple with the aftermath of the public health emergency (PHE) linked to COVID-19, it’s essential to understand that infection prevention measures extend beyond this specific virus.
The conclusion of the PHE declaration in May, saw waivers, flexibilities, and additional funding pertinent to infection control reappraised. With this, it’s crucial to recognize the continued need for infection prevention, particularly within specific sectors such as skilled nursing facilities and home health.
Devin Jopp, CEO of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, has been instrumental in advocating for enduring effective infection prevention practices. Upon significant review of HealthLeaders’ articles featuring Jopp, two key aspects emerge; the importance of a holistic approach to infection prevention across all health conditions, and the struggle to manage rapidly changing health settings, such as the expanding home health sector.
As the dialogue on infection prevention grew exponentially during the pandemic, Jopp emphasizes that it is not exclusively COVID-focused; it’s a general concern across the entire healthcare sector, from hospitals to skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies. He suggests that establishments should employ a blend of infection prevention strategies, provide training in infection prevention for their staff, or ideally employ a full-time infection prevention specialist. However, this raises a new concern: the shortage of infection prevention specialists, mirrored by the broader pattern of staff shortages across healthcare. Interestingly, he also highlighted the burgeoning home health sector with an alarmingly underserved infection prevention infrastructure.
As the preference for at-home care grows, so does the challenge of ensuring a sanitized, pathogen-free environment within a patient’s residence. This need for reinforced infection prevention measures, particularly in rapidly changing health settings, underscores the necessity of maintaining the robustness of infection prevention initiatives despite the cessation of the public health emergency declaration.
While we continue strides towards a post-pandemic world, the healthcare sector’s core principle remains constant: the safety and wellbeing of patients. Resting on this principle, public health leaders, like Jopp, suggest continuous measures of making infection prevention a priority throughout the healthcare continuum and addressing the shortage of trained infection preventionists.
Source: https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/post-acute/round-post-acute-infection-prevention-after-end-phe