TABLE 3.

Long-Term Care Facility Infection Control Program: Elements

Elements	Examples
Infection control activities
Establish and implement routine infection control policies and procedures	Hand hygiene Standard precautions Organism-specific isolation Employee education
Infection identification	Develop case definitions Establish endemic rates Establish outbreak thresholds
Identification, investigation, and control of outbreaks
Organism-specific infection control policies and procedures	Influenza TB Scabies MDROs (eg, MRSA)
Disease reporting	Public health authorities Receiving institutions LTCF staff
Antibiotic stewardship	Review of antimicrobial use
Monitoring of patient care practices	Aspiration precautions Pressure ulcer prevention Invasive device care and use
Facility management issues	General maintenance Plumbing/ventilation Food preparation/storage Laundry collection/cleaning Infectious waste collection/disposal Environment Housekeeping/cleaning Disinfection/sanitation Equipment cleaning
Product evaluation	Single use devices
Resident health program	TB screening Immunization program
Employee health program TB screening	TB screening Immunizations Occupational exposures
Other program elements
Performance improvement	Serve on PI committee
Resident safety	Study preventable adverse events
Preparedness planning	Develop pandemic influenza preparedness plan