The Building Local Operational Capacity for COVID-19, Healthcare-Associated Infections, and Antimicrobial Resistance (BLOC COVID-19+) project continues and expands upon the first year of the BLOC COVID-19 Demonstration Site project by allowing LHDs to go beyond COVID-19 response and address other HAIs and AR pathogens.
The goals of the BLOC COVID-19 + project are to:
- Strengthen relationships between LHDs and facilities and partners;
- Enhance LHD capacity and confidence in assessing and supporting infection prevention and control (IPC) practices in high-risk facilities;
- Improve implementation of IPC in high-risk facilities; and
- Decrease rates of and negative outcomes associated with COVID-19, HAIs, and AR pathogens in those facilities.
We asked our BLOC COVID+ sites to reflect on their experiences and lessons learned since joining our project. Five of our sites share insights and lessons learned for specific HAI threats in a series of case studies:
- Alameda County Public Health Department: Carbapenem-resistant organisms (CROs)
- Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department: Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) & Enhanced Barrier Precautions (EBP)
- Fresno County Department of Public Health: Candida auris
- North Central District Health Department: Legionella
- Stark County Health Department: Mitigating a Norovirus Outbreak in a Long-Term Care Facility
