Enhance Our Education Tools with Your Feedback

Your insights are essential in helping us improve our education tools at IPC. We value your feedback.

In March 2023, we launched a package of educational material for IPC Risk Assessment, with additional tools released in April 2024. These resources, including infographics, practice support tools, and eLearning modules, are designed to enhance safety for both staff and patients. Learn more about our initiatives at ahs.ca.

Please take a few minutes to let us know your thoughts on the microlearning bundle for IPC Risk Assessment by completing our short online survey. It's live and will remain open until October 31, 2024.

Thank you in advance for participating. If you have any questions or comments, please contact us at ipcsurvstdadmin@ahs.ca.

Routine Practices Information Sheets: Care-specific Setting

• Acute Care Routine Practices Information Sheet
• Community-Based Services Routine Practices Information Sheet
• Continuing Care Routine Practices Information Sheet
• Corrections Routine Practices Information Sheet
• Algorithm for Patients requiring Surgery

Chain of Infection

The chain of infection illustrates how an organism is transmitted. There is no beginning and no end, so the chain can start at any of the links. Infectious illnesses can be prevented by applying infection prevention and control practices that break one or more of the links in the chain.

• Chain of Infection Detail

Infection Prevention and Control Risk Assessment (IPC RA)

eLearning

• Module 1
• Module 2

Tools

• IPC RA Overview
• IPC RA Practice Support Tool
• IPC RA Action Worksheet

Resources

• Acute Care Routine Practices Infection Prevention and Control Risk Assessment (IPC RA) Algorithm
• Community-Based Services Infection Prevention and Control Risk Assessment (IPC RA) and Choosing Personal Protective Equipment
• Continuing Care Infection Prevention and Control Risk Assessment (IPC RA) and Choosing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for Resident Interactions

Patient Placement or Accommodation

• Cohorting
  • Acute Care Recommendations for Cohorting Inpatients on Additional Precautions in Acute Care Facilities
  • Emergency Departments Recommendations for Cohorting during Pandemic in Emergency Departments
• Overcapacity
  • Acute Care IPC Space Risk Assessment for Potential Overcapacity Space
  • Checklist Patient Risk Assessment for Use of Overcapacity Spaces
• Spatial Separation – Position Statement

Safe Patient Ambulation

• Personal Protective Equipment to Transport Patients on Additional Precautions

Respiratory Hygiene

Respiratory hygiene is the recommended method for preventing transmission of respiratory illness, particularly in health- care settings.

Quite simply it is the right way to cover your cough!

4 Key Elements

1. Covering cough/sneeze with a sleeve or tissue
2. Disposing of used tissues in garbage
3. Washing hands after coughing or sneezing
4. Masking when in waiting room with influenza symptoms (cough and fever)

Support Materials

• Cover Your Cough Poster - Emergency Departments
• Cover Your Cough Poster - Clinics & Offices

Environmental and Equipment Cleaning

Environment

• Principles for Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection
• See AHS Intranet > Home > Teams > Nutrition, Food, Linen & Environmental Services > Policy & Practice Documents for AHS ES resources

Equipment

• Equipment Cleaning (Spaulding's Classification)
• IPC Best Practice Recommendations
• Medical Device Reprocessing
• Single Use Medical Devices

Appropriate Handling of Linen, Waste, and Sharps

Linen

• Domestic Laundry Machine
• See AHS Intranet > Home > Teams > Nutrition, Food, Linen & Environmental Services > Policy & Practice Documents for AHS LS resources

Waste

• Waste Management Policy
• See AHS Intranet > Teams > Nutrition, Food, Linen & Environmental Services > Waste Management

Sharps

• Biomedical Waste Policy
• Safety Engineered Devices (SED)