International Infection Prevention Week 2026: The Roles of IPs, SPD, and EVS

When people think about infection prevention and control (IPC), they may picture someone washing their hands before entering a hospital room. They might think about isolation precautions or the instruments prepared for surgery. Those are important examples, but IPC reaches into far more of our lives than most of us realize. It influences the care we receive and the environments we enter, often through work we never see.

International Infection Prevention Week, observed October 19 to 25, 2026, gives us an opportunity to recognize that work. It is also a chance to look more closely at who makes it possible. IPC depends on people throughout health care, and its principles extend into our schools and workplaces. Even a trip to the grocery store connects us to practices intended to protect our health.

Inside a hospital, IPC is part of every department’s work. The infection prevention team provides expertise and guidance, but its members cannot be present for every patient interaction. They depend on colleagues who understand how their own decisions affect others. The CDC describes its core infection prevention practices as applicable “across the continuum of health care settings,” reinforcing that safe care requires a consistent commitment wherever care occurs.

Consider what happens before a patient reaches a hospital bed. Someone at the entrance may help a person with respiratory symptoms understand where to go. A transport employee needs to know how to prepare shared equipment for another patient. In imaging, staff must understand who is responsible for cleaning the equipment used during an examination. Each interaction creates a place where clear expectations matter.

Other contributions are less visible. Facilities personnel maintain the systems that support the clinical environment. Supply chain staff help ensure that workers have the products needed to follow established procedures. Leaders determine whether departments have enough people and sufficient time to perform their responsibilities safely. These decisions shape what happens at the bedside, even when the people making them rarely enter a patient’s room.

Infection preventionists (IPs) help connect these parts of the organization. They examine information that may reveal a problem and work with colleagues to understand what it means. A concern that first appears limited to one unit may require conversations across several departments. An IP’s ability to investigate depends partly on whether those relationships already exist and whether staff feel comfortable sharing what they have noticed.

Much of this work happens before anyone recognizes a crisis. Education can help a team understand why a familiar practice needs to change. Reviewing a workflow can reveal a gap that a written policy does not address. Recognizing IPs during this week should include acknowledging the time and judgment this work requires.

Sterile processing professionals make another essential contribution long before a procedure begins. A clinician may receive an instrument ready for use without seeing the work required to prepare it. That readiness depends on a process in which each step supports the next. Thorough cleaning, for example, must occur before high-level disinfection or sterilization. Manufacturers’ reprocessing instructions guide how devices must be handled.

The people in the sterile processing department (SPD) understand the demands behind those requirements. They may recognize that an instrument needs closer inspection or that a turnaround request leaves insufficient time for proper processing. When they raise a concern, they are contributing to a clinical decision that affects the next patient. Their expertise deserves the same serious consideration given to concerns raised elsewhere in the organization.

Environmental services (EVS) professionals also work at the intersection of written expectations and daily reality. A cleaning procedure must function in a room where care is ongoing. A disinfectant must be used according to its instructions, including the required contact time. The process depends on staff having what they need and understanding who is responsible for the work.

EVS personnel see where those expectations become difficult to meet. They know when supplies are missing or when access to an area creates a barrier. Their observations can help an organization improve, provided someone listens and responds. Thanking them matters, but so does addressing the concern they raised during yesterday’s shift.

The partnership among IPs, SPD, and EVS deserves particular attention during this week. Each brings knowledge that the others need. An infection preventionist may identify a pattern that warrants investigation, while a colleague in SPD or EVS can explain what is happening within the process. Those conversations are more useful when everyone participates as a respected professional.

The same commitment belongs in ambulatory facilities. Patients receiving outpatient care still depend on safe practices, even when their visit is brief. A smaller facility may organize its responsibilities differently, but it still needs clear accountability.

Outside health care, IPC becomes part of the routines that help communities function. In a school, children need opportunities to wash their hands and adults who help them learn how. Custodial personnel need support to maintain the building appropriately. School leaders also make decisions about ventilation and how the school responds to illness. These practices help create an environment where children can learn, and staff can work.

Stores and factories have their own responsibilities. Employees need access to handwashing supplies, and workplace expectations should support their use. A worker’s opportunity to practice good hygiene should not depend on whether the shift is quiet. The CDC notes that workplace hand hygiene benefits people beyond the workplace, including employees’ families and the broader community.

The precautions will differ across these environments. A classroom does not require the same practices as an operating room. What they share is the need to understand the risks and make appropriate prevention possible. That requires attention to how people actually live and work.

During International Infection Prevention Week, let us thank the professionals whose knowledge helps protect us. Then let us ask what support they still need and be willing to act on the answer. Infection prevention is present throughout our lives, and the people who make it possible deserve recognition that continues long after the week ends.