Patient Safety Topic

Infection Prevention

Overview

Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) are infections that patients get while receiving treatment for medical or surgical conditions, and many HAIs are preventable. Review some key concepts.

Colonization	vs	Infection
When an organism is present in or on the body but there are no symptoms		When a pathogen begins multiplying and causes clinical symptoms (e.g., fever).

Disease Type	vs	Infection Type
When a pathogen is affecting the body (e.g., C. difficile).		Which part of the body is affected (e.g., intestines).

Surveillance Criteria	vs	Clinical Criteria
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) that meet surveillance definitions are reportable to NHSN by acute care facilities and to PA-PSRS by ambulatory surgery facilities and long-term care facilities.		The criteria a clinician may use to assist in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of a potential infection.

Visit these Infection Prevention topics to learn more.

Antimicrobial Resistance Patient Safety Topic

Articles

Educational Tools

The Lowdown

An Educational Resource for Long-Term Care

2025	2024	2023	2022
Winter	Winter	Winter	Spring
Spring	Spring	Spring	Summer
	Summer	Summer	Fall
	Fall

2021	2020
Winter	Winter
Spring	Spring
Summer	Summer/Fall
Fall

Long-Term Care Facilities Infection Prevention Tools
Resources to assist clinicians, and administrators with preventing infections in nursing homes, assisted living facilties and other long-term care facilities.

Healthcare-Associated Pneumonia
This infographic lists prevention strategies.

Prevention Tips
This publication shares how to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses.

What is Herd Immunity
This infographic shows how herd immunity occurs.

How Vaccines Work
This infographic shows how vaccines work.

How mRNA Vaccines Work
This infographic shows how messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines work.

Infection Prevention Manual Table of Contents Template
This tool is a guide to assist long-term care infection preventionists in the development of an infection prevention manual.

Healthcare Waste Classification Resource Guide
This guide is to help identify which containers are often used for specific circumstances (e.g., sharps, biohazards).

Utilization Data Collection Form
This spreadsheet will calculate monthly utilization totals for long-term care facilities that are required to report resident, urinary catheter, and central line days.