ASHE Publishes Updated Infection Control Risk Assessment

CHICAGO (April 20, 2022) – The American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) of the American Hospital Association published an updated infection control risk assessment called ICRA 2.0, which promotes and directs interdisciplinary infection prevention in health care facilities during construction, renovation and maintenance. ASHE is also developing companion resources to support user interface with the tool, optimizing its effectiveness for patient, staff and visitor infection prevention.

The first formal ICRA was introduced in the 1996 edition of the Facility Guidelines Institute’s Guidelines for Design and Construction of Hospital and Healthcare Facilities. ASHE, with other organizations and experts on the field, created a step-by-step ICRA process and subsequently pursued efforts to clearly delineate what would be included in the ICRA process.

In July 2020, ASHE put together a multidisciplinary team including representatives from infection prevention, industrial hygiene, construction, facilities management and authorities having jurisdiction to evaluate and improve the existing ICRA guide to better serve health care organizations.

“We know that infection prevention is a significant concern within health care facilities and that construction, renovations and maintenance activities can present a significant risk to patients and staff,” said Jonathan Flannery, ASHE Senior Associate Director of Advocacy. “ASHE feels very strongly that by improving the infection control risk assessment process we can help reduce the risk of infections.”

In 2022, ASHE launched an e-learning course, “ICRA 2.0: Improving Patient Protections,” which instructs learners to apply the tool to the health care environment, emphasizing multidisciplinary input. A demo of the course was available to attendees of the 2022 International Summit & Exhibition on Health Facility Planning, Design & Construction in New Orleans.

In addition to the e-learning course, ASHE is actively developing additional components to support user interface with ICRA 2.0, including a process guide and train-the-trainer course.