Who we are
The Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Field Team supports Rhode Island healthcare facilities by strengthening IPC practices through education, assessment, and expert consultation. This free, non-regulatory resource is provided by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH).
Who we help
We support healthcare facilities such as nursing homes, assisted living residences, and long-term acute care hospitals.
What we do
- Help healthcare facilities minimize the risk of infectious disease transmission, including multi-drug-resistant organisms (MDROs) and other healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
- Enhance the knowledge, confidence, and competence of staff, leadership, and community members.
- Use a facility-centered approach to strengthen infection prevention practices and implement infection control strategies.
- Provide support in HAI prevention and outbreak response efforts including on-site infection control assessment and response (ICAR) and tailored education and training visits.
How it works
Facilities may request help with infection control assessments and/or customized infection prevention and control education and training. Click on each topic below to learn more about what we do.
An ICAR visit assesses IPC practices in your facility to guide quality improvement activities and care. An ICAR consultation is not an inspection—visits are voluntary, collaborative, supportive, and free. The goal is to enhance the knowledge, technical proficiency, confidence, and competence of leadership and staff to reduce infectious disease transmission.
RIDOH’s Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology offers this non-regulatory initiative developed and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We use CDC ICAR tools to systematically assess a healthcare facility's IPC practices and guide quality improvement activities.
What to expect
- Getting started: To request an ICAR visit, fill out an IPC Field Team request form. The IPC Field team will follow up with your facility.
- On-site visit
- In-person walk-through: This half day visit includes a facility tour and discussions with staff and leadership about current IPC practices.
- Direct observation of IPC practices: Examples of observed IPC practices include hand hygiene, transmission-based precautions, environmental cleaning and disinfection, PPE use, and wound care.
- Feedback: After the visit, we’ll send your facility a tailored action plan with specific recommendations, resources, and tools to address identified IPC gaps, including:
- Identified areas for quality improvement
- Evidence-based recommendations
- Tools and resources to support improvements
- Follow up and ongoing partnership: We offer continuous quality improvement through periodic in-person and virtual check-ins and support. We encourage facilities to implement recommendations through their Quality Assurance/Performance Improvement (QAPI) programs.
This free on-site education and training helps healthcare facilities prepare for and respond to HAI outbreaks. In partnership with facility leadership, we assess and address the educational needs of staff to enhance their overall IPC competence and confidence.
What to expect
- An interactive and engaging on-site staff education and training session
- Timely and relevant topics such as environmental cleaning and disinfection, enhanced barrier precautions, hand hygiene, PPE donning and doffing, and transmission-based precautions
- Support to establish a sustainable plan for infection prevention education
How to get IPC Field Team training or support
To request IPC Field Team training or support, fill out an IPC Field Team request form. The IPC Field team will follow up with your facility.