Infection Prevention/Control for Personal Care Homes: Implementing Guidance and Creative Solutions (March 2023)

Infection Prevention/Control for Personal Care Homes: Implementing Guidance and Creative Solutions

This session will first characterize the differences in staffing and infection control and prevention measures in skilled nursing facilities compared with personal care homes/assisted living facilities from a regulatory perspective. Using the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak response as an example, the session will highlight variability in resources, medical oversight and staff education in infection control and prevention. Finally, a review of infection prevention and control program options, minimum elements of an infection control and prevention program policies and procedures, and feasible approaches to support an infection control and prevention programs will be discussed.

Learning Objectives:

At the completion of this session, learners will be able to:

  • Characterize the differences in staffing and infection control and prevention measures in skilled nursing facilities compared with personal care homes/assisted living facilities from a regulatory perspective.
  • Highlight variability in resources, medical oversight and staff education in infection control and prevention.
  • Review of infection prevention and control program options, minimum elements of an infection control and prevention program policies and procedures.
  • Discuss feasible approaches to support an infection control and prevention programs.

Nicole Osevala, MD

Nicole Osevala, MD, is an Internal and Geriatric Medicine physician at Penn State Health, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center where she is the Interim Chief of Geriatric Medicine and Medical Director for the Penn State Health Post-Acute Care Service. In her clinical roles, Dr. Osevala cares for older adults in a local nursing home as well as providing geriatric medicine consultation for geriatric trauma patients at Hershey Medical Center. Administratively, Dr. Osevala has championed the creation of a post-acute care network for Penn State Health patients with the goal to improve care transitions, quality of care in nursing homes and ultimately improve outcomes for this vulnerable population. In the hospital, Dr. Osevala launched the inpatient geriatric consult service in 2020, and has convened stakeholders in March 2021 to embark upon the goal of becoming an Age Friendly Health System at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Dr. Osevala has led the South Central’s Regional Response Health Collaborative Program, known as RRHCP, the Regional Congregate Care Assistance Team known as RCAT, and currently leads the Resiliency, Infrastructures, Supports and Empowerment (RISE) program which supports 90 nursing homes and 150 personal care homes across 13 counties in South Central PA in Covid-19 outbreak response, staff education, emergency management preparation and community building to create a sustainable response to crises in long term care.

Deb Burdsall, PhD, RN-BC, CIC, FAPIC

Deb Burdsall, PhD, RN-BC, CIC, FAPIC, has worked in long term care since 1974. She is board certified in infection prevention and control (CIC), and ANCC certified in gerontological nursing. Dr. Burdsall has been working with Hektoen Institute and The Illinois Department of Public Health working with congregate care in Illinois to support evidence-based, cost effective infection prevention strategies for long term care. She is currently a board member for the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

  • 0.5 CME
  • 0.5 CMD Management
  • 0.5 MOC

Release Date: 03/29/2023   |   Expiration: 03/01/2026

Credit Statements:

Accreditation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

CME Designation: Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medical Association designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CMD Credit Hours: This CME activity has been pre-approved by the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM) for up to 0.5 management hours toward certification or recertification as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) in post-acute and long-term care medicine. Each physician should claim only those hours of credit actually spent on the activity.

The CMD Program is administered by the ABPLM. Each physician should claim only those credit hours that he/she actually spent in the activity. For further information, contact ABPLM at 410-992-3117 or at cmd@paltmed.org.

ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC): Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 0.5 Medical Knowledge MOC points and patient safety credit in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Financial Disclosure Statement:

The Association requires the disclosure of all speaker/faculty/planner’s relevant financial relationships; presence of off-label use of a device or medication; and discussion of any experimental, new or evolving topic prior to each accredited education activity.

If the learner perceives any bias toward a commercial product or service, advocation of unscientific approaches to diagnosis or therapy, or recommendation, treatment, or manners of practicing healthcare that are determined to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective in the treatment of patients please report this to the Association's staff.


The following speaker(s) disclosed relevant financial relationship(s): 

  • Julie Gammack, MD, CMD (Planner & Speaker): Stockholder: Amarin
  • Kenya Rivas Velasquez, MD, CMD, FAAFP (Planner & Speaker): OptumRx: Stockholder
  • All other planners, speakers, and AMDA staff have no relationships with ineligible companies.

All relevant financial relationships have been identified and mitigated.

Components visible upon registration.