2301 - Another SSI? What Now?

Thursday, June 13

2:15 PM - 5:15 PM

Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, 108A

CE: 2.5

Primary Speaker(s)

Carole Leone, RN, MSN, CIC, FAPIC

Infection Prevention Consultant
BJC Healthcare
Edwardsville, Illinois

Nothing to disclose

Second Speaker(s)

Rachael Snyders, MPH, BSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC

Lead Infection Prevention Consultant
BJC HealthCare
St. Louis, Missouri

Nothing to disclose

Third Speaker(s)

Patti Kieffer, RN, BSN, CIC, FAPIC

Infection Prevention Manager
St. Louis Children's
St. Louis, Missouri

Nothing to disclose

Moderator(s)

Lorene Campbell, BSN, RN, CIC

Infection Preventionist
Valley Children's Hospital
Madera, California

Nothing to disclose

This session will provide education and guidance on how to conduct an SSI outbreak investigation. The actions needed to identify and control an outbreak related to SSIs are very specific. Novice IPs may struggle with some components of the investigative workflow, which could lead to misidentifying the underlying problem(s) contributing to the SSIs.
IPs will be guided through an in-depth review of the 10 key components of an investigative workflow for a cluster of SSIs. The key components are:

1) Recognize that an outbreak is occurring.
2) Write a situation, background, assessment, recommendation (SBAR) communication and collaborate with the IPC medical director.
3) Define a case and write a case definition.
4) Perform a literature review and develop a line list of potential cases.
5) Conduct environmental and OR observations.
6) Create an epidemic (epi) curve and present the data.
7) Identify potential sources of the outbreak.
8) Develop, implement, and document control measures.
9) Communicate with key stakeholders and facility leadership.
10) Close the investigation.

Learning Objectives:

Upon completion, participants will be able to describe the ten key components of an outbreak investigation.
Upon completion, participants will be able to identify essential questions that should be asked and answered during an outbreak investigation.
Upon completion, participants will be able refer to the templates, tools, and handouts provided during this workshop to assist them in a future outbreak investigation.