Infection Control Exchange

Construction and renovation in long-term care take place in a setting that is both a care environment and someone’s home. How can teams manage infection risks while protecting residents’ routines, comfort and quality of life?

In this episode of The Infection Control Exchange Podcast, host Wayne Tucker welcomes Youhanna Salib to explore the complexities of construction and infection prevention and control in LTC.

Recorded at the IPAC GTA Education Day, this conversation focuses on the planning, communication and collaboration needed when construction takes place alongside ongoing resident care.

Topics include:
• The unique challenges of construction in an occupied LTC home.
• Early IPAC involvement and the Infection Control Risk Assessment (ICRA) for all projects, renovations and new construction.
• Managing dust, containment, airflow and movement around the worksite.
• Resident-centred planning and continuity of care.
• Communication between IPAC, Facilities, contractors, clinical teams and Environmental Services.
• Monitoring changing conditions and preparing renovated spaces for use.

Whether you work in IPAC, long-term care leadership, Facilities, Environmental Services or construction project management, this episode offers an opportunity to reflect on how resident protection can remain central throughout a project.

Thank you to our guest and the IPAC GTA Education Day organizers for supporting this conversation.

Hosted by Wayne Tucker, BA, MSc (Psych), EMBA, MSc (IPAC), CIC, LTC-CIP.

Explore The Infection Control Exchange:
https://www.infectioncontrolexchange.com

Subscribe for more conversations connecting infection prevention knowledge with everyday practice.

This episode is an educational discussion. Project-specific decisions require an appropriate risk assessment and consideration of applicable standards and local requirements.

Who counts as an ICP—and who is missing from the picture?

Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC) includes infection control roles within its registered nursing category. Yet the IPAC workforce includes professionals from public health, microbiology, epidemiology, laboratory science, and other fields.

These professionals are doing IPAC work, but their roles may be dispersed across different occupational classifications. That makes it difficult to see the full workforce.

In this episode of The Infection Control Exchange Podcast, recorded at the IPAC GTA Education Day, Wayne Tucker and his guest discuss:

• What the National Occupational Classification is and why it matters
• The limitations of representing IPAC primarily through nursing
• The case for a standalone classification for IPAC professionals
• Potential implications for recruitment, education, professional recognition, and workforce planning
• How to recognize diverse professional backgrounds while maintaining clear expectations for IPAC expertise

What professional background did you bring to IPAC? Share your experience in the comments.

Building an Infection Control Culture in Oral Surgery

A written protocol is essential, but what happens during a busy clinical day? In an oral surgery practice, infection control culture shows up in the decisions staff make, the concerns they raise, and the way the team responds when something is difficult to do safely.

In this episode of The Infection Control Exchange Podcast, recorded at the IPAC GTA Education Day, Wayne Tucker and his guest discuss:

• The difference between compliance and a true culture of infection control
• Where to start when a practice wants to shift mindsets
• Ways to engage frontline staff and make audits and education more meaningful
• How to address pushback and fatigue without becoming the “compliance cop”
• One practical step a team can take to begin improving its culture

This conversation is for oral surgery teams and anyone working to make infection prevention a shared part of everyday practice.

What has helped staff take ownership of infection control in your workplace? Share your experience in the comments.

Watch or listen to The Infection Control Exchange Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

Welcome to Episode 50 of The Infection Control Exchange and Episode 3 of our four-part MDRD series: “Sterilization: Proving the Process Worked.”

A completed sterilizer cycle does not automatically mean a load is ready for use. Sterility assurance requires the correct process, proper packaging and loading, acceptable cycle parameters, careful monitoring and complete documentation.

In this episode:

• Steam and low-temperature sterilization
• Device and cycle compatibility
• Packaging and loading practices
• Physical, chemical and biological monitoring
• Bowie-Dick and other air-removal testing
• Load release and traceability
• Wet packs and failed cycles
• Recalls and incident response
• The importance of safety culture and MDRD expertise

No single indicator proves everything. Safe load release is based on several pieces of evidence and the knowledge of professionals who understand how to interpret them.

Subscribe to The Infection Control Exchange for practical discussions about infection prevention, IPAC, medical device reprocessing and patient safety.

From used to safe—every step matters.

Protecting patients or residents does not always make you popular.

Infection control professionals are sometimes viewed as the “infection control police.” They may be blamed for affecting patient flow through isolation decisions, slowing construction projects, adding requirements or delivering advice that healthcare teams do not want to hear.

In this episode of the Infection Control Exchange, Wayne Tucker explores the difficult and often misunderstood side of being an ICP, including:

• Isolation precautions and patient-flow pressures
• Auditing and the “infection control police” perception
• Construction and renovation concerns
• Pressure to provide immediate answers
• Responsibility without complete authority or resources
• The professional and emotional cost of the work

The majority of the episode focuses honestly on the difficult side of the profession. During the last few minutes, the discussion shifts to why it is all still worth it.

The successes of infection prevention and control are often invisible. There is no laboratory result for an infection that was prevented, and no incident report for an outbreak that never happened.

However, behind every precaution is a person we are trying to protect—and behind the work of infection prevention is the responsibility to prevent harm and save lives.

Share your perspective in the comments: What is the most difficult or misunderstood part of being an infection control professional?

Visit: www.infectioncontrolexchange.com

Before a reusable medical device can be disinfected, sterilized or safely returned to patient care, it must first be correctly disassembled, thoroughly cleaned and carefully inspected.

In Part 2 of the Infection Control Exchange’s four-part MDRD series, Wayne Tucker explores the cleaning and decontamination stages of medical device reprocessing. The episode follows contaminated devices from the point of use through safe collection, transportation, sorting, disassembly, cleaning and inspection within the Medical Device Reprocessing Department.

Topics include pre-cleaning at the point of use, following manufacturers’ instructions for use, safe instrument disassembly, manual cleaning, ultrasonic cleaning, automated washer-disinfectors, detergents, water quality and the occupational risks associated with handling contaminated devices.

The episode also examines inspection following cleaning—including checking instruments for residual soil, damage, corrosion, correct function and areas that may be difficult to clean. It explains the important differences between cleaning, disinfection and sterilization and reinforces a fundamental principle: a device that has not been properly disassembled, cleaned and inspected cannot be considered ready for the next stage of reprocessing.

This episode highlights the specialized knowledge, standardized processes and attention to detail required to ensure reusable medical devices are safe and functional for the next patient.

MDRD Series — Episode 1 of 4: The Journey Begins — Point of Use to Decontamination

The journey of a reusable medical device doesn't begin in the sterilizer.

It begins the moment the device is finished being used.

In Episode 1 of this four-part Infection Control Exchange series, we follow a reusable medical device from the point of use through safe transportation and into the decontamination area of the Medical Device Reprocessing Department (MDRD).

This episode explores:

• Point-of-use care
• Preventing contamination from drying on instruments
• Safe handling and transportation of contaminated medical devices
• Manufacturers' instructions for use
• Dirty-to-clean workflow in MDRD
• PPE and occupational safety
• Manual cleaning and cleaning chemistry
• Ultrasonic cleaning
• Automated washer-disinfectors
• Cleaning verification and responding when cleaning fails
• The relationship between MDRD, clinical departments and IPAC

One message connects all of these processes:

Sterilization cannot compensate for inadequate cleaning.

MDRD professionals perform critical work behind the scenes every day to support infection prevention and safe patient care.

At the end of Episode 1, our instrument is clean.

In Episode 2, we'll follow it onto the clean side for Inspection, Assembly & Packaging.

Subscribe to the Infection Control Exchange and follow the complete four-part MDRD series.

Four episodes. One instrument journey. From used to safe — every step matters.

Disposable or reusable?

It sounds like a simple choice, but selecting gowns for healthcare environments involves much more than deciding whether a gown gets discarded or sent to the laundry.

In Episode 2 of the Infection Control Exchange series on healthcare gowns, Wayne Tucker explores the differences between disposable and reusable gowns and the infection prevention, operational and environmental considerations that should influence gown selection.

The discussion covers factors including barrier protection, consistent performance, laundering and reprocessing, supply reliability, storage, waste generation, environmental impact, staff comfort, and the importance of matching the gown to the anticipated exposure.

The episode also explores an important principle: there isn't necessarily one gown—or one gown system—that is right for every healthcare environment.

Effective PPE programs require organizations to consider the procedure being performed, anticipated exposure, required level of protection and the systems needed to ensure that protection remains reliable from one use to the next.

Topics include:

• Disposable versus reusable gowns
• Infection prevention considerations
• Barrier protection and gown performance
• Laundering and quality assurance
• Supply-chain resilience
• Healthcare waste and sustainability
• Staff comfort and usability
• Matching gown selection to risk
• Why healthcare organizations may benefit from a mixed approach

🎙️ Infection Control Exchange

Not all healthcare gowns provide the same protection.

In Episode 1 of this two-part Infection Control Exchange series, we explore the different types of gowns used throughout healthcare and how the required level of protection should be determined.

Topics include:

• Isolation and protective gowns
• Surgical gowns and surgical isolation gowns
• AAMI PB70 Levels 1–4
• Barrier protection and anticipated exposure
• Point-of-Care Risk Assessment (PCRA)
• Matching PPE to the clinical task
• Why gown colour doesn't necessarily tell you the protection level
• The importance of understanding what your organization is actually purchasing and using

Key takeaway: PPE selection should be based on risk. The goal is to ensure healthcare workers have the right gown, providing the right protection, for the right situation.

🎙️ Coming next — Part 2: Disposable vs. Reusable Gowns

#InfectionControl #InfectionPrevention #IPAC #PPE #Healthcare #AAMI #PatientSafety #HealthcareWorkers #InfectionControlExchange

Germs don't announce their arrival.

Every day, healthcare professionals make decisions that can prevent transmission before it occurs or allow infections to spread when action is delayed.

In this conference episode of The Infection Control Exchange, we explore three essential principles of Infection Prevention and Control that apply across every healthcare setting:

• The threat posed by unseen enemies: Microorganisms are invisible, yet they have the potential to impact patients, staff, and entire healthcare organizations.
• The risks of delayed implementation of Infection Prevention and Control measures: Recognizing risks early and acting quickly can prevent isolated cases from becoming outbreaks.
• The importance of outbreak preparedness: We routinely practice fire drills, but how often do we rehearse our response to infectious disease events? Regular outbreak exercises strengthen communication, clarify roles, and improve organizational readiness.

Preparedness isn't about expecting the worst—it's about ensuring we are ready when it happens.