Infection Prevention and Control

The safety of our patients is very important to us. The goal of our Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) program is to identify and reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

This is accomplished by various methods including:

  • Surveillance

  • Education

  • Collaboration

  • Performance improvement

  • Research
     

Surveillance

Surveillance is the process of monitoring the hospital for diseases that affect the health of our patients, staff, visitors, and others. 

The role of the Infection Prevention and Control team in surveillance is to:

  • Determine the type and scope of surveillance activities

  • Establish surveillance priorities

  • Perform data analysis

  • Feed back surveillance results and implement quality improvements
     

Prevention and education

IPAC is involved in many aspects of day-to-day hospital life including education of staff, antibiotic utilization, construction and renovation, and disinfection and sterilization of medical equipment. 

Infection Prevention and Control provides education for patients, visitors, volunteers, hospital staff and physicians about infectious and communicable diseases. IPAC creates policies and procedures to help protect the health and improve the safety of everyone in the hospital. 

IPAC provides a mandatory infection control orientation session to all new staff. There is also an annual infection control update provided to all staff. Education to hospital staff, physicians and volunteers is provided for topics identified through performance improvement projects, unit or departmental requests, and outbreak investigations. 
 

Infection Prevention and Control Committee 

The committee ensures there is an active institution-wide infection control program that develops effective measures to prevent, identify and control infections acquired in the hospital or brought into the hospital from the community. 
 

Control 

Control measures are initiated (through authority of IPAC Committee Chair or designate) as appropriate and when clusters of infections in patients or employees are identified by surveillance. Outbreak Management procedures are implemented at the direction of Chair of IPAC Committee/Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control.