Infection Prevention Consulting for Acute Care, Specialty & Behavioral Health Hospitals
Reviewed by Phenelle Segal, RN, CIC, FAPIC — Founder, Infection Control Consulting Services (40+ years in infection prevention and control)
Note: This page covers acute care, specialty, and behavioral health hospitals. Looking for support specific to critical access hospitals? Visit our Critical Access Hospitals page.
Is your hospital experiencing a shortage of infection prevention professionals, or is your department in need of additional certified preventionists? ICCS provides highly experienced, acute care–trained consultants — each with more than 15 years of acute care infection prevention experience, including hands-on work with electronic medical record platforms and surveillance programs — to support your team onsite, remotely, or both.
Acute care, specialty, and behavioral health hospitals remain closely regulated and under increased scrutiny. Federal, state, and accreditation agencies monitor hospitals to confirm that CMS-defined infection prevention core measures are implemented and reported, and CMS requires hospital infection preventionists to maintain sound knowledge of surveillance and reporting processes for a range of infections.
Why It Matters
CMS Condition of Participation 42 CFR § 482.42 requires every hospital to maintain an active, hospital-wide program for the surveillance, prevention, and control of healthcare-associated infections, combined with an antibiotic stewardship program. As with CAHs, these are treated as a single, coordinated requirement — the regulation requires the hospital's governing body to appoint a qualified leader for antibiotic stewardship, based on the recommendations of medical staff and pharmacy leadership, and requires the program to be coordinated with the hospital's QAPI program. Hospital systems with multiple certified hospitals under one governing body may elect a unified, system-wide program rather than a separate one at each site.
Each state also maintains its own infection prevention regulations that hospitals must follow in addition to CMS requirements. Accreditation organizations — including the Joint Commission, DNV, and ACHC (which includes the HFAP hospital accreditation program) — survey hospitals at regular intervals to confirm core measures are being met, and CMS requires hospitals to follow nationally recognized guidelines developed by organizations including the CDC, AORN, and AAMI.
Maintaining an infection-free environment is a growing challenge. Managing multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs), including MRSA and C. difficile, remains a high priority for infection prevention departments, and the reprocessing of medical devices, including endoscopes, has become an increasingly scrutinized part of that work as biofilm on device surfaces has proven difficult to detect and remove.
How ICCS Supports Hospital Compliance
ICCS specializes in infection prevention practices for acute care, specialty, and behavioral health hospitals nationwide. Every ICCS hospital consultant brings more than 10 years of acute care infection prevention experience, including familiarity with electronic medical record platforms and surveillance systems — support is available both onsite and remotely, depending on what your team needs.
Tasks ICCS provides to hospitals and health systems include:
Onsite initial gap analysis and program assessment visits
“In-time” onsite education
Repeat onsite visits as requested by the client facility
Assistance with preparation for accreditation or state surveys
Development of a [hospital infection prevention and control program](https://www.iccs-home.com/hospitals-infection-prevention-and-control-plan/), including written plans, risk assessment, and TB and bloodborne pathogen exposure control plans
Development of policies and procedures
Remote onboarding of novice infection preventionists
Remote HAI surveillance per federal and state requirements
Remote reporting of data into NHSN
Remote policy and procedure review and revision
Remote attendance at IP&C committee meetings
Remote education
Additional Hospital Services
Other services provided to hospitals include:
Development of written infection prevention and control programs
Antimicrobial stewardship program development
Assistance with regulatory deficiencies, including corrective action plan development
Mock survey support ahead of state or accrediting-body visits
Ongoing remote consultation and policy review
Request a Consultation
Frequently Asked Questions About ICCS Hospital Services
Does CMS require hospitals to have an infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship program?
Yes. CMS Condition of Participation 42 CFR § 482.42 requires every hospital to maintain an active, hospital-wide program for infection surveillance, prevention, and control, combined with an antibiotic stewardship program led by a qualified individual appointed by the governing body. The program must be coordinated with the hospital's QAPI program.
How are hospitals accredited and surveyed for infection prevention compliance?
Hospitals are surveyed by state agencies and, where applicable, by CMS-approved accrediting organizations such as The Joint Commission, DNV, and ACHC (which includes the HFAP hospital accreditation program), in addition to meeting state-specific infection prevention regulations.
Does ICCS provide onsite support, remote support, or both for hospitals?
Both. ICCS hospital consultants provide onsite services such as gap analysis visits and in-time education, alongside remote services including HAI surveillance, NHSN reporting, policy review, and IP&C committee attendance, tailored to what your hospital needs.
Does this page apply to critical access hospitals?
This page covers acute care, specialty, and behavioral health hospitals. If you're looking for support specific to a critical access hospital, visit our Critical Access Hospitals page for CAH-specific regulatory guidance and services.