Outreach to frontline healthcare workers about infection prevention and control(IPC). This series will discuss IPC concepts and case studies, and feature expert guests. 

Hosted by the Washington State Department of Health.

Project FIRST Line

What is public health and infection prevention and control? What are healthcare associated infections (HAIs)? Get a brief overview in this episode to understand the importance of these three topics and the role they play in our lives and the lives of our community. Also, enjoy our corny joke of the day!

Project Firstline, Ep. 1: Healthcare Associated Infections

Join us as we welcome Larissa Lewis, a Nurse Consultant with the Healthcare Associated Infections Section at the WA DOH to discuss Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). We cover the purpose of PPE, common PPE items, when and where to wear PPE, tips, tricks, and more!

Project Firstline, Ep. 2: Personal Protective Equipment

How much do you know about hand hygiene? Discover how smart you are and how much you can learn by listening to us talk “all-things hand hygiene” with Lisa Hannah, an Infection Preventionist and Lead Supervisor at the WA DOH in the Healthcare Associated Infections Section. Get to know key terms, importance, top take-aways, and even catchy facts and tunes all related to hand hygiene!

Project Firstline, Ep. 3: Hand Hygiene

Have you heard of multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs) or antibiotic resistance before? Ever wondered what they were and why they’re such a big deal? Listen to this episode where Marisa D’Angeli, a Medical Epidemiologist/Public Health Doctor at the WA DOH, talks about the importance of MDROs, why antibiotic resistance is increasing, and what we can do about it!

Project Firstline, Ep. 4: Multi-drug-resistant Organisms (MDROs)

Infection prevention is important in all aspects and stages of our lives. Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) and Assisted Living Facilities (ALFs) are an important and crucial setting where infection prevention matters. Join us as we host Elena Madrid (WA Health Care Association), Laura Hofmann (LeadingAge), and Sydney Record (WA Dept. of Health) to talk about key infection prevention and control practices, challenges, and their tips to better infection prevention in SNF/ALFs! Note: Here is link to tool mentioned in this discussion: https://pathway-interact.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/INTERACT-Stop-and-Watch-v4_0-June2018_June-2018.pdf

Project Firstline, Ep. 5: Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing Facilities

We constantly say infection prevention and control practices are important all the time and every time. In this episode we hear stories from two Infection Preventionists (IPs) that show why performing these practices are crucial, especially in hospital settings. We welcome Glenda Schuh and Diana Villaflor-Camagong; Glenda became a RN in 1960 and an IP in 1985; Diana practiced medicine before becoming an IP in 2001. Their knowledge and background in acute care settings makes for an episode that you will not want miss!

Project Firstline, Ep. 6: Hospital Settings

Candida auris is the first fungal pathogen to be declared a public health threat. Yes, another public health threat! Tune into this episode as Emily Schneider, the West Regional Epidemiologist for the AR Lab Network, tells us all about this fungal pathogen. You will definitely want to hear this one!

Project Firstline, Ep. 7: Candida auris (C. auris)

Respirators, N95s, seal checks, and fit testing are just a few words that relate to respiratory protection but are often confused or questioned. In this episode we define key terms and answer common questions surrounding respirator fit testing, N95 seal checks, importance of N95s, and facial hair. Yes, we said facial hair! Listen to understand why it all matters.

Project Firstline, Ep 8: Respiratory Protection

Vaccines have allowed us to prevent several diseases and save lives, playing a large role in healthcare and the health of our community. Listen as we hear from two experts, Kim Carlson and Esther Lam, talk about three important vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs), Tetanus, Diphtheria, and Pertussis. You may even get to hear about the importance of the chickenpox and flu vaccine!

Project Firstline, Ep. 9: Vaccine Preventable Diseases (VPDs)

Have you noticed how many pieces of equipment, variety of procedures, and amount of water is involved with dentistry?! The variety of equipment and procedures in dental settings provides for unique infection prevention practices. We host Dana Harris, a Public Health Dental Hygienist in Eastern Washington, to highlight the large role infection prevention in dental facilities plays in protecting our lives. This episode will really make you want to sink your teeth into dental infection prevention!

Project Firstline, Ep. 10: Dental Settings

Kidneys play a critical role in how our body functions. What happens when they don’t work properly? Often, we turn to dialysis. In this episode, we define dialysis terms and ask Beverly Burt, an experienced Infection Preventionist, all about infection prevention practices specific to dialysis patients and settings.

Project Firstline, Ep. 11: Dialysis Settings

What do you mean, environmental health in healthcare?! Isn’t it all the same? Well, we wish it was as simple as taking a breath of fresh air, but environmental health differs in healthcare and community settings. Listen to this episode as Becky Doe, an Industrial Hygienist and Infection Preventionist, helps explain this difference and other key concepts.

Project Firstline, Ep. 12: Environmental Health in Healthcare Settings

What does surveillance mean when it’s applied to public health? What does surveillance look like for healthcare facilities? Find out these answers and more in this podcast episode where we host Nailah Smith, an epidemiologist at DOH, and give you another Apple of the Day to Keep the Doctor Away!

Project Firstline, Ep. 13: Surveillance in Public Health and Healthcare

It is no secret that cancer is frightening. Developing an infection while receiving cancer treatment seems even scarier. Marie Wilson, an Infection Preventionist at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, helps us understand the unique and important aspects of infection prevention in oncology settings. Enjoy this episode and a good chuckle at the end with our Apple of the Day to Keep the Doctor Away!

Project Firstline, Ep. 14: Oncology Settings

We’re going back to the basics! Remember standard and transmission-based precautions? Well in this episode you’ll hear all about them with a bonus discussion on isolation signs, including a recent project to update these signs in Washington. We talk about this reminder and update with Evan Sylvester, the Director of Infection Prevention at Providence Swedish. This is an episode you won’t want to skip!

Project Firstline, Epi. 15: Standard and Transmission-Based Precautions

Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) is becoming more important as we start to see a rise in antibiotic resistance. Join us as we kick off our AMS Mini-Series with an introduction to antimicrobial stewardship and antibiotics! Jessica Zering, an AMS Pharmacist at the Washington State Department of Health, will be joining us for this special AMS Mini-Series.

Project Firstline, Epi. 16.1: Antimicrobial Stewardship Mini-Series: Introduction

Is it a penicillin allergy or side effect? What’s the difference? Why do we care when we’re talking about Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS)? Find out in this second episode of our AMS Mini-Series with Dr. Jessica Zering, an AMS Pharmacist at the Washington State Department of Health.

Project Firstline, Epi. 16.2: Antimicrobial Stewardship Mini-Series: Penicillin Allergies

Everyone plays a role in Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS). But what does this look like for you? Find out in this episode where we ask Dr. Jessica Zering about various healthcare jobs and their role in AMS.

Project FIRST Line

WA Dept. Health