APIC Releases Manual for Construction and Renovation Projects in Healthcare Facilities

Any construction or renovation project at a healthcare facility can have infection implications. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) has released the Infection Prevention Manual for Construction & Renovation, a critical resource for all healthcare facility construction and renovation projects, to serve as a blueprint for planning through completion.

Intended for the infection preventionist (IP) who is developing a comprehensive infection control program during construction, the Infection Prevention Manual for Construction & Renovation provides policies and procedures, resources, models, examples, and educational material for all patient populations. These can be used by new and experienced IPs both as samples of how other facilities have developed their infection control programs during construction, and as templates to adapt for their own facilities.

“The infection preventionist should be involved in projects from the initial planning stages through completion,” says editor and author Richard Vogel, MS, CIC. To help gain support for early involvement, Vogel suggests that IPs demonstrate the need for an ‘infection control during construction’ program and the importance of IP input.

The Infection Prevention Manual for Construction & Renovation can help IPs successfully:

- Educate facility administration about the need to comply with regulatory agencies;
- Explain the value of the infection control during construction program; and
- Show how input from IPs results in an enhanced outcome or can help to prevent an adverse outcome. 

The Infection Prevention Manual for Construction & Renovation contains 11 chapters on topics including construction and renovation policies, dust control techniques, water sampling, air monitoring, equipment resources, architectural and design resources, flood recovery and mold abatement, and an extensive listing of construction resources from regulatory agencies and professional organizations that includes a state-by-state table of healthcare building authorities. The manual also comes with a CD containing sample policies, checklists, and other materials that can be adapted to various facilities’ programs.

Source: APIC