Liaison Public Health Nurse Project: Innovative Public Health Approach to Combat Infectious Disease in Hospitals.

CONTEXT: Infectious disease threats, high incidence/prevalence of health care-associated infections, and multidrug-resistant organisms challenge hospitals to improve infection prevention/control strategies and infectious disease preparedness/response efforts. PROGRAM: The Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Public Health (DPH), Hospital Outreach Unit (HOU) addressed this need with the liaison public health nurse (LPHN) project, which is designed to strengthen capacity and bridge the care continuum with hospitals to prevent/control infectious disease. IMPLEMENTATION: The project utilizes 5 LPHNs who interface with LAC hospitals to improve reporting of infectious disease/hospital outbreaks, strengthen the surveillance infrastructure, and enhance communication/collaboration. The LPHNs communicate regularly and meet one-on-one with hospital infection preventionists with focused discussion, consultation, and assessment of infectious disease, participate in joint infection control meetings/conferences/calls, outreach on joint public health projects, and educate/train hospital staff. EVALUATION: Within the first 7 years of implementation (2003) of the unit, reporting of hospital outbreaks increased 27%; hospitals reporting infectious disease via a county reporting system increased 95% during the same period. Currently, 64% of hospitals are reporting via the electronic laboratory reporting system (automated transmission to public health of reportable laboratory findings). In addition, the number of hospital infection control committee meetings LPHNs were invited to increased 96% during the first 7 years. The LPHNs/HOU participate(d) in 9 joint infection prevention/control projects with hospitals. DISCUSSION: The threat of emerging infectious disease, health care-associated infections, and multidrug-resistant organisms is an ongoing challenge. Preventing infectious disease requires innovative approaches to effect and empower hospitals to respond. The LAC DPH LPHN project has proved to be an invaluable resource and key component to enable effective communication/collaboration to improve infection prevention and control strategies/preparedness efforts and protect the public's health from infectious disease.

The public health nursing practice manual: a tool for public health nurses.

Public health nursing is recognized as an important and critical component of the public health workforce, and today, it makes up the largest single category of public health professionals, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Preparation of generalist public health nurses with the knowledge base, skills, and training to effectively respond to public health challenges is essential. The County of Los Angeles Department of Health Services, Public Health Nursing Section, in response to this need, implemented the Public Health Nursing Practice Manual to provide public health nurses with interventions and guidelines to articulate their role and practice as outlined by the framework of the Public Health Nursing Practice Model developed by Los Angeles County. Identification and development of new methods to support the practice of nursing is imperative in facilitating a more sophisticated and expanded level of practice, as well as providing a means of improving, protecting, and enhancing the quality of health for all people. The Public Health Nursing Practice Manual is an effective tool to monitor performance improvement and provide standardization of the generalist public health nurse practicing in Los Angeles County.