Lessons Learned from an Emergency Infection Prevention Response to a Deluge

Session Description: This presentation targets infection preventionists across various levels of experience and seeks to provide them with resources, recount the crisis response experience, and elucidate the lessons learned from a deluge that compromised the surgical space of a community hospital. The hospital, undergoing significant construction to accommodate its rapidly expanding community, was on the verge of completing its first Hybrid operating room. However, on Memorial Day, a couple of weeks before the room was to be operational, an unforeseen incident occurred. A flood of gray water, resulting from infrastructure failure related to the construction project, from a passing storm, affected not only the Hybrid operating room but also all nine existing surgical suites.
This incident highlighted opportunities for optimizing infection preventionist involvement in the hospital’s Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) creation and assessment processes, as well as with longitudinal communication and coordination with both its Facilities and Safety personnel. The presentation will underscore the critical importance of Infection Prevention's role in construction planning, design, and execution. It will advocate for frequent rounding to identify potential risks early and highlight the need for Infection Prevention to be a significant contributor to the emergency preparedness process, thereby mitigating risks to staff, patients, and the surrounding community.