Prairie Lakes Healthcare Systems Takes Proactive Approach To Infection Prevention

Prairie Lakes Healthcare System (PLHS) recognizes infection prevention and control is an essential part of caring for and protecting their patients. Their proactive approach to infection prevention and control training includes taking advantage of the monthly office hours and valuable resources offered by South Dakota Project Firstline (SD PFL).

“South Dakota Project Firstline training resources, posters and videos have been highly informative and useful in spreading the word. The most impactful outcome has been staff awareness and engagement with solutions to meet standards” explained Mary Petersen, RN, infection preventionist for PLHS.  

SD PFL offers educational resources in various formats to meet the workforce’s diverse learning needs and preferences. Resources are designed to empower and enable healthcare workers to think critically about infection control, using adult learning principles, educational best practices, Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommendations, and the science that informs them. SD PFL training is intended for all healthcare professionals, like nurses, doctors, certified nursing assistants, and allied health professionals, among many others. 

Rebecca Sime, RN, program manager for the South Dakota Foundation for Medical Care (SDFMC) recognized the commitment from the PLHS team. “The infection preventionists at Prairie Lakes Healthcare System utilize Project Firstline materials to enhance their infection prevention training and education practices and build on them to meet the needs of their team. Project Firstline materials are created with this adaptation in mind, and we love the work they are doing!”

Sime joined Jess Danko, MHSA, RRT, LTC-CIP, program director for SDFMC, who led PFL infection prevention training using an educational PowerPoint that PLHS added to their staff training regimen. Additionally, the team participated in a proactive Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) training for their facility. 

“The visit from Project Firstline was a wonderful experience as it was a non-punitive review of our facility. The review was very thorough. The supportive evidence to the findings was very helpful for us to implement follow-up and changes at our facility,” declared Shannon Britt, BSN, RN, CIC, PLHS infection prevention coordinator. “It has been exciting and impressive to see the directors and staff making changes to their areas to meet standards and guidelines. It has also been great to have staff ask questions regarding the report and offer suggestions on how to improve at our facility.”

Britt and Petersen have taken many PFL products, added content to them, and distributed them to meet their infection prevention and control training needs. “South Dakota Project Firstline training resources, posters and videos have been highly informative and useful in spreading the word. The most impactful outcome has been staff awareness and engagement with solutions to meet standards” explained Petersen.

South Dakota Project Firstline encourages all healthcare workers to take advantage of these free infection control training resources. The educational materials on infection prevention and control are available at https://www.sdprojectfirstline.org. Anyone interested can also subscribe to the newsletter and receive the latest infection prevention and control updates. Follow PFL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.