NJ Department of Health encourages health care facilities, organizations to sign up for infection prevention, control training from department’s Project Firstline team
Department Seeking to Expand Training Program for Health Care Staff Following Initial Success
NEW JERSEY – The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is calling on all health care facilities and professional health care organizations around the state to sign up for their staff to receive infection prevention and control (IPC) training from NJDOH’s Project Firstline team.
The team is looking to expand this training throughout New Jersey, following a successful initial partnership with the Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) network.
Project Firstline, a national initiative established and funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), provides training and educational tools on IPC practices for frontline health care workers.
Over the past year, NJDOH’s Project Firstline team provided inclusive and equitable education and training to all of HMH’s acute care hospital sites, reaching over 1,100 HMH team members, to increase general IPC knowledge and decrease the overall risk of infectious disease threats.
“The partnership between Hackensack Meridian Health and Project Firstline helped increase critical infection control knowledge and practices,” said Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli. “Through this program, Project Firstline hopes to continue to provide this valuable information to other health care workers who impact thousands of lives throughout the state.”
Through its partnership with HMH, Project Firstline began offering two-day training in April 2022 at: Hackensack University Medical Center; Raritan Bay Medical Center; Old Bridge Medical Center; Riverview Medical Center; Palisades Medical Center; Southern Ocean Medical Center; Jersey Shore University Medical Center; JFK University Medical Center; Bayshore Medical Center; Carrier Clinic; and Ocean University Medical Center.
“Hackensack Meridian Health is proud to be the first major health care organization in New Jersey to partner with Project Firstline as we continue our efforts to provide infection-prevention to our team members,’’ said Robert C. Garrett, CEO, Hackensack Meridian Health. “This partnership with the DOH and Project Firstline is another winning strategy to help us live our mission to transform health care and be the leader of positive change.
Training sessions include a variety of topics applicable to health care workers and the health care setting, including: COVID-19 impact on antibiotic resistance; recognizing risk using reservoirs (the process of determining a source of infection spread in a health care setting); hand hygiene; cleaning and disinfection; and personal protective equipment.
In addition to the in-person and live virtual training sessions, Project Firstline also offers demonstration videos on hand hygiene and the use of personal protective equipment that can be used by the HMH network for educational purposes outside of training sessions. Handouts are also made available in various languages to increase the reach of the program and training.
NJDOH’s Project Firstline team is currently taking active steps to continue its partnership with HMH and bring training to other health care settings and organizations throughout New Jersey. To bring this training to your organization, fill out an intake form or email CDS.IC.PFL@doh.nj.gov.
General information about Project Frontline, visit www.cdc.gov/infectioncontrol/projectfirstline/index.html.
