Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR)

The Infection Control Assessment and Response (ICAR) Program offers healthcare facilities the opportunity to participate in a consultative review of infection prevention practices.Schedule an ICAR Assessment

What is an ICAR Assessment?

ICAR assessments are:

• Designed to assess infection prevention strengths and opportunities on a variety of infection control topics

• Offered at no cost

• Conducted by infection preventionists from the Washington State Department of Health that are Certified in Infection Control (CIC)
• Use tools from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Can be performed in a variety of healthcare settings (e.g., hospitals, long-term care, outpatient, dialysis, dental)
• Focused on education and offer the most up-to-date infection prevention resources to participating healthcare facilities.

Facilities will gain:

• An in-person assessment that is consultative and non-regulatory
• Tailored resources, tools, and training
• Ongoing consultation with an infection preventionist from the Washington State Department of Health
• A sustainable partnership for ongoing improvement

The ICAR visits take approximately 3 hours and covers the following topics:

• Hand hygiene
• Isolation procedures
• Environmental cleaning
• Employee safety
• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Injection safety
• High-level disinfection and sterilization practices
• Surveillance activities

To view a sampling of the great resources provided during ICAR assessments, check out our all-in-one Infection Prevention Resources (PDF).