Project Firstline
An Infection Prevention and Control Training Collaborative
Project Firstline is a CDC national training collaborative offering timely infection control training to front line health care workers and the public health workforce in the fight against infectious disease threats. As a key partner in this initiative, AHA is pleased to help bring this critical training opportunity to the health care field and champion sound decision-making and positive behaviors in a time of crisis.
To stop the spread of infectious disease threats—including COVID-19—anyone working in a health care facility needs a foundational knowledge of infection control and must understand and be ready to implement infection control protocols and procedures throughout their work day, including during every patient care activity and health care interaction.
AHE is pleased to contribute to this critical education and training opportunity and offer resources supporting health care environmental services professionals in their commitment to a pathogen-free healing environment across all care settings.
Share this page with your manager and other health care front line professionals, and let them know they can follow Project Firstline on Facebook and Twitter for the latest information about upcoming resources and events.
New Video Resource
EVS Front-line Educational Videos - Available in Spanish!
A series of explainer videos that support EVS professionals in their efforts to practice proper cleaning and disinfection in a variety of health care settings.
AHE Blog
What the Pandemic Has Taught Us about Infection Prevention and Control
The pandemic has taught us to champion our EVS staff as a critical part of our patient care teams. And it starts by inspiring greater collaboration between EVS technicians and infection prevention specialists and clinicians systemwide. It requires a comprehensive training program that supports all health care workers and their specialized roles in delivering patient care.
Taking Care of the Patients:
Geisinger and Project Firstline
Read what Project Firstline Scholarship Awardees Had to say at the AHE Exchange 2022
“I am from Norton, Kansas with the Norton County Hospital 25 bed critical access hospital and the TeamSTEPPS training and Exchange Conference with AHE has been a wonderful experience for being as small as I am. I am walking away with so much information that I will be able to take back to my facility to improve our patient care.”
“What I have gotten from the convention this year 2022 is everything, I can’t believe how wonderful it’s been. The little things you don’t even think of, the ability to clean thoroughly and safely was in my realm, but I didn’t realize to the extent until I came here to see this. All the information I learned, I’m taking back to the hospital, I’m going to be doing more learning and then I’m going to be passing it on to the staff. I have EVS workers that have been in our hospital for 18 years, it will be a little adjustment but I think they will be excited to learn as I was.”
“I am from a rural hospital in Nebraska and I was blessed with receiving the scholarship this year. I am very appreciative of that. I am super excited about what I have learned and I can’t wait to take it back to my staff and reenergize them about their passion to clean and keep a safe environment for our patients. I am very grateful for the opportunity and I look forward to more educational opportunities through AHE.”
“I come from Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin. I am a first timer to the AHE Exchange. I was a lucky recipient of the scholarship that covered my expenses. I am not sure I would be able to come without this. It has been a wonderful experience, many good sessions, the speakers have been incredible. I strongly recommend anybody attend, you will learn a lot.”
“I love the AHE Exchange, this is my second time attending. I was fortunate enough to go to San Antonio. The networking is incredible as well as the breakout sessions to learn what the industry best standards are in order to make sure we are providing the best care for our patients.”
Featured Resources
EVS Plays an Essential Role in the Fight Against Infection
As the front line of the health care infection prevention and control (IP&C) team, environmental services (EVS) plays an essential role in the fight against the spread of infection - one that creates a cleaner, healthier and safer environment for patients, visitors and fellow health care workers.
Good Communication Is Critical to Infection Control
A new video toolkit from AHA Team Training and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Project Firstline can help health care teams prevent and control infections, improve patient safety and bolster resiliency, writes Christopher Hund, senior director, programming and implementation, at the AHA Center for Health Innovation.
COVID-19 Resources for Environmental Services - Available in Spanish!
The AHA, in collaboration with AHE, has released a new set of infographics to support frontline health care environmental services personnel with important COVID-19 considerations for cleaning and disinfection, management of medical waste, and general precautions when performing discharge or transfer cleaning. Access the PDF »AHE Resources
AHE Offers Additional Training Resources for IPC
Proper disinfection techniques in the environment of care directly impacts the rate of health care associated infections and patient outcomes. The Association for the Health Care Environment provides training resources and a variety of signature programs that help environmental services technicians define and maintain standards in the environment of care.
Other Resources
What Health Care Needs to Know About Infection Control & the Environment of Care
CDC | AHA | HRET | AHE
AHE's Executive Director, Patti Costello, hosted CDC’s Drs. Michael Bell and Abigail Carlson who serve as infection control advisors and subject matter experts for Project Firstline, and who discussed what every front line health care worker needs to know about infection control and the environment of care, and why giving EVS leaders a "seat at the table" is crucial to organizational success.
Explore solutions for
AHA Project Firstline
AHA trainings, vlogs and other resources for front line health care workers and the public health workforce.
Health Care Facilities
Risk assessment checklists and training on proper ventilation and safety for building engineers.
Infection Contol Training
Partners
Project Firstline is a collaborative between CDC and a diverse group of organizations
American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, American Nurses Association, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Health Research and Educational Trust, National Association of County and City Health Officials, National Council on Urban Indian Health, National Indian Health Board, National Network of Public Health Institutes
The Project Firstline program is a national training collaborative led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in partnership with the American Hospital Association and the Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET), an AHA 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary.
Want to learn more about Project Firstline? Contact ProjectFirstline@aha.org.
Project Firstline is a national collaborative led by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to provide infection control training and education to frontline health care workers and public health personnel. AHA is proud to partner with Project Firstline, as supported through Cooperative Agreement CDC-RFA-OT18-1802 & CDC-RFA-CK20-2003. CDC is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this webpage do not necessarily represent the policies of CDC or HHS, and should not be considered an endorsement by the Federal Government.