LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. – With the continued threat of COVID-19 variants and other emerging infectious-disease risks, IPRO and the Home Care Association of New York State (HCA) are working together under a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-led project to bring critical infection-control education to frontline healthcare staff in New York State. The project is supported by Health Research Inc. (HRI), the corporation that administers funding to further public health goals of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and other entities.
HRI recently awarded IPRO and HCA a one-year contract to conduct statewide implementation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Project Firstline, a National Healthcare Workforce Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Training Collaborative. IPRO and HCA will provide training to frontline healthcare workers that will build a foundational knowledge of infection control protocols and procedures during every patient care activity and interaction.
Project Firstline provides innovative, engaging, and effective training on infection control protocols directly to frontline healthcare personnel and the public health workforce. The program will build on existing training for home health aides, personal care aides, and other direct caregivers, along with a special emphasis on training frontline staff who are not required to complete mandatory infection control training for re-licensure in NYS.
“IPRO and HCA have a long-standing history of successful collaboration on quality improvement initiatives and educational activities across the healthcare continuum,” said Theodore Will, CEO of IPRO. “Lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic underscore the critical importance of this effort, which is focused on disseminating infection-control information that will save lives.”
“With a shared commitment to infection control and prevention, we are excited to work together to customize and deliver Project Firstline learning modules that will address immediate workforce infection control training needs for home health and hospice staff to further protect themselves, their patients, and families across New York State,” said Al Cardillo, President and CEO of HCA.
With the goal of preventing the spread of infections among patients, families, and healthcare personnel across New York State, the IPRO/HCA team will target training for frontline, direct care staff at the state’s 113 Medicare Certified Home Health Agencies, 1,484 Licensed Home Care Service Agencies, and 42 hospice providers. This effort will expand and strengthen the infection prevention and control expertise of staff working in specific healthcare settings and with special populations, thereby increasing the expertise across the state’s healthcare community.
To learn more, contact Sara Butterfield, AVP, IPRO, at 518-320-3504.
About IPRO: IPRO is a national, not-for-profit healthcare organization that works with government agencies, providers and consumers to implement innovative programs that bring policy ideas to life. IPRO does this by making creative use of clinical expertise, emerging technology, data solutions, and diverse marketplace experience to make the healthcare system work better. Incorporated in 1983, IPRO is one of the nation’s largest and most experienced healthcare quality improvement organizations.
About the Home Care Association of New York State: HCA is a statewide health organization comprised of nearly 400 member providers and organizations delivering home and community-based care to several hundred thousand New Yorkers annually. HCA works to support providers in the delivery of high quality, cost-effective home and community-based care for the state’s citizens. HCA providers include hospitals, nursing homes, free-standing agencies and health systems which operate Certified Home Health Agencies, Licensed Home Care Services Agencies, Managed Long Term Care Plans, Hospices, Long Term Home Health Care Programs, waiver programs, and an array of allied, supportive services entities.
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10/20/21