Stopping Infections at the Door: The Home Health Infection Preventionist’s Role

Session Description: As home care continues to grow as a vital component of healthcare delivery, Infection Preventionists in this setting are uniquely positioned to lead strategic efforts that protect both patients and staff. This session highlights the leadership role of the Home Health Infection Preventionist in designing and managing infection prevention programs tailored to home care environments. Unlike their counterparts in acute care, home health IPs must navigate diverse and unpredictable settings, often working independently to implement standardized practices and ensure staff readiness.
Attendees will explore how infection preventionists serve as the first line of defense against infections entering the home, and how their responsibilities require a unique blend of clinical expertise, program management, and strategic communication. The session will examine leadership strategies for standardizing infection prevention practices across home visits, including supply chain oversight and personal protective equipment consistency. It will also emphasize the importance of building strong partnerships between infection prevention, clinical educators, and operational teams to align infection prevention goals with broader organizational priorities.
A key focus will be the integration of infection prevention into new hire onboarding, where infection prevention plays a central role in orienting staff to home-specific protocols and expectations. Participants will learn how standardized education tools and competency-based training modules can be used to reinforce infection prevention practices from day one. Finally, the session will address how IPs lead surveillance initiatives for healthcare-associated infections, including methods for identifying, tracking, and responding to infection trends to improve patient outcomes. Through practical examples and leadership insights, attendees will gain actionable strategies to elevate their impact in home health through program design, staff education, and data-driven decision-making.

Valerie Martin

Infection Preventionist, Advocate Health

Valerie is an Infection Preventionist for Advocate Health Midwest Region Home Health and Hospice. In her current role, she provides infection prevention guidance to clinical teams, supports onboarding and ongoing training, and serves as a subject matter expert for non-acute infection control practices. Valerie collaborates with key stakeholders to review infection-related safety events, contributes to policy and procedure development, and participates in quality improvement initiatives. With over six years of experience in infection prevention and eleven years as a registered nurse, Valerie brings a broad clinical background that includes ambulatory infection prevention, perioperative nursing and medical surgical nursing. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wisconsin Lutheran College and is board certified in Infection Prevention and Control (CIC). Valerie has served as an elected member of the Board of Directors for her local APIC Chapter and has actively contributed to national initiatives through APIC’s Home Healthcare Task Force.

Austin Penna

Epidemiologist, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Austin R. Penna, MPH, CIC, is an Epidemiologist in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In his role, he provides support to health departments, healthcare facilities, and other federal partners in the investigation of suspected outbreaks involving healthcare-associated infections and infection control breaches across healthcare settings. He also serves as the CDC Liaison for the APIC Annual Conference Committee.