When Our Worlds Collide: Infection Prevention & Employee Health Collaboration

Session Description: In a seven-hospital healthcare system with hundreds of ambulatory sites, Infection Prevention and Colleague Health teams collaborated to improve colleague exposure management. A system-wide review of the exposure reporting process revealed opportunities to enhance communication, streamline workflows, and reduce preventable exposures.
To improve transparency and accountability, standardized report-outs were introduced for Infection Control Committee (ICC) meetings. These facilitated consistent data sharing and supported timely decision-making across all care settings.
Monthly stakeholder meetings—including Infection Preventionists, a Colleague Health Nurse Manager, and ambulatory care representatives—led to the development of standardized protocols. These leveraged internal electronic communication tools to ensure timely and complete information sharing, with support from the Colleague Health Program Manager.
Using the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, teams refined strategies such as updates to tuberculosis and varicella order sets. These incorporated clinical decision support to guide appropriate isolation practices and reduce delays. A key issue identified was incorrect isolation orders, which contributed to delays in both isolation and condition identification.
From January–June 2024 to the same period in 2025, colleagues exposed to tuberculosis decreased from 768 to 621—a 19.14% reduction. While varicella exposure hours increased, accuracy and timeliness of isolation improved. Delayed recognition of rash onset remained a challenge, prompting targeted education across hospitals and ambulatory sites to improve early identification and isolation.
Through team meetings and continuous feedback, the initiative enhanced satisfaction among Infection Prevention and Colleague Health staff and reinforced a shared commitment to colleague safety and infection prevention excellence.

Kathryn Galvin

Manager of Infection Prevention, Hartford Healthcare

Kathryn Galvin is a Manager of Infection Prevention at Hartford Hospital, Hartford Healthcare. She received a B.S. in Medical Technology and a B.A in Biology from Rhode Island College and a M.S. in Business Administration with a Certification in Healthcare Systems Management from the University of Saint Joseph. She is also a Medical Laboratory Scientist through the American Society for Clinical Pathology and a Certified Infection Control through the Certification Board of Infection Control. She has served on APIC’s Professional Development Committee, as a member of APIC’s Prevention Strategist Editorial Board and as well as Infection Control Professionals of Southern New England’s Co-President. With her passion for professional development, Kathryn likes to bring her laboratory experience and expertise to her work every day as an Infection Preventionist and mentor other growing infection preventionists.

Paul Anthony

System Medical Dir, Colleague Health, Hartford HealthCare

Dr Anthony graduated Medical School from Universite Notre Dame d'Haiti, and then moved to Connecticut for Residency in Internal Medicine at St Vincent's Medial Center in Bridgeport. He then went to fellowship in Infectious Diseases at University of Connecticut. He later joined Hartford HealthCare, where he is now the System Medical Director for Colleague Health Services. There, he uses his background as an Infectious Diseaess physician, and collaborates closely with Infection Prevention to monitor and help decrease potential exposure to infectious pathogens.

Patricia Willeman

Director of Quality, St. Croix Health

Patty Willeman serves as the Director of Quality at St. Croix Health, an independent Critical Access Hospital in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin. She brings over a decade of experience in infection prevention and healthcare quality. In her role, Patty oversees key functions including quality services, infection control, risk management, regulatory compliance and accreditation, employee health, and emergency preparedness. She is passionate about driving a culture of quality, patient safety, and excellence in care. Patty is also committed to continuous professional growth and the integration of best practices in healthcare quality and safety.