Editor's Note The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), on May 26, released an update on the spread of COVID-19 at its 2023 Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta in April. The conference was attended by some 1,800 in-person attendees. A rapid assessment team was gathered to survey…

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Infection preventionists (IPs) play a vital role in healthcare, especially in the sterile processing department (SPD), where preventing infection and cross-contamination is paramount. As infection prevention advocates, SPD personnel are responsible for ensuring that surgical instruments and other medical devices are properly sterilized and free of harmful microorganisms before use.…

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Surgical site infection (SSI) surveillance has rapidly grown in the ambulatory setting over the last decade, with the expansion of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network’s (NHSN) Outpatient Procedure Component (OPC). OPC-SSI is designed to track and monitor SSIs in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs)…

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Editor's Note The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) announced May 1 that it has created a series of ‘Playbooks’ to help infection preventionists (IPs) and epidemiologists operationalize prevention efforts to help fight emerging infectious diseases. The pathogen-specific playbooks outline recommended practices for outbreak response, including: Pathogen…

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Editor's Note This study from Ohio State University researchers finds that infection preventionists (IPs) who worked shorter shifts and had more organizational wellness support had better wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 926 IPs responded to a survey of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)…

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