Nursing Home RTI Surveillance Pilot Project

What is the study?

CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) is considering the addition of a surveillance module for 'Respiratory Tract Infections (RTI)' in nursing homes. CDC is partnering with the Georgia Department of Public Health (GDPH) Emerging Infections Program (EIP) and 5 other sites to work with nursing homes as part of a pilot project. The purpose of this activity is to hear from nursing homes how to best perform this surveillance and to get feedback on how the forms, tools, and training material can be improved.

Georgia EIP Project Coordinator

Joseph Kellogg, MPH Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory School of Medicine

(716) 720-0053

joseph.kellogg@emory.edu

Office Hours

Join weekly help meetings:

For assistance or clarification with the forms, you may join a zoom meeting that will occur once a week, every Wednesday at 2 PM EST. This is a good option if you have any questions that would be difficult to handle via email.
To join via computer (preferred): https://zoom.us/j/97359321345
To join via phone: +1 470 381 2552 Meeting ID: 973 5932 1345

RTI Surveillance Forms and Instructions

How are forms submitted?

All forms can be faxed to the following number: (404) 712-1029, or sent as a PDF to the coordinator's email.

Denominator forms

A denominator form should be turned in EACH MONTH, regardless of whether or not there are any RTI infections.
These will be due the 1st Friday following the end of the month

Prospective event forms

If there are no events in a given month, these DO NOT need to be turned in.
You may submit these when you submit monthly denominator forms, or as you complete them.

Prospective Event Forms

Download the RTI Prospective Event form (Appendix A) and follow the Table of Instructions (Appendix B) as a guide to completing the form. Further Definitions, Tables and Algorithms for Surveillance (Appendix E) are also provided for reference.

Appendix A: RTI Prospective Event form

Appendix B: Table of Instructions for RTI Prospective Forms

Appendix E: Definitions, Tables and Algorithms for Surveillance Definitions

Denominator Forms

Appendix C is used to report daily census and prescriptions, and should be completed monthly regardless of whether there are any RTI events. Appendix D provides further details on how to complete the Denominator Form (Appendix C).

Appendix C: Denominator form

Appendix D: Instructions for Denominator form

Quick Reference Guide

Consult this guide when you have questions about some of the nuances involved in the filling out of forms.

Download the Quick Reference Guide

Training

This presentation covers the approach to the NHSN RTI Pilot Surveillance: how to track, what to track, and what to report.

Download the Powerpoint

Training Slides RTI Surveillance Preview

Further Training: Case Study

This video was created by the CDC to help train participating sites on how to use the forms. It walks through a few case studies to give some example-based assistance on the forms.