{"id":22329,"date":"2026-03-02T11:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/vipta\/?post_type=cheerspeers&#038;p=22329"},"modified":"2026-03-02T11:26:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T16:26:19","slug":"bug-of-the-month","status":"publish","type":"cheerspeers","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/vipta\/cheerspeers\/bug-of-the-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Bug of the Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p align=\"left\"><span data-contrast=\"none\" data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">The infection prevention team at Ballad Health continually seeks\u00a0new and creative ways to educate more than 13,500 team members across\u00a020 hospitals\u00a0on\u00a0important infection prevention topics.\u00a0Supporting this effort is\u00a0Krista Hess, an infection preventionist at Russell County Hospital in southwest Virginia,\u00a0who\u00a0leads the Bug of the Month Committee.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p align=\"left\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">With\u00a0full creative control, the committee\u00a0develops\u00a0a one-page educational flyer each month that is shared by leaders,\u00a0highlighted\u00a0during\u00a0huddles, and featured in\u00a0internal communication,\u00a0such as\u00a0Ballad Health News.\u00a0Now celebrating its two-year anniversary, Bug of the Month continues to gain momentum.\u00a0October\u2019s \u201cSay Boo to the Flu\u201d\u00a0achieved\u00a0the\u00a0highest engagement\u00a0yet.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p align=\"left\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Over the past two years, the Bug of the Month Committee has\u00a0spotlighted\u00a0topics such as\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-contrast=\"none\">C.\u00a0difficile<\/span><\/em><span data-contrast=\"none\">,\u00a0<\/span><em><span data-contrast=\"none\">Candida auris<\/span><\/em><span data-contrast=\"none\">, hand hygiene, and environmental cleaning.\u00a0<span class=\"markinl3gle68 uM2yb\" data-markjs=\"true\">Congratulations<\/span>\u00a0to Krista Hess and the entire Ballad Health team for\u00a0championing innovative\u00a0approaches that\u00a0keep\u00a0team\u00a0members informed\u00a0on\u00a0vital infection prevention topics!<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p align=\"left\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-22330\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers-375x375.png 375w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/213\/March-Cheers-for-Peers.png 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-22329","cheerspeers","type-cheerspeers","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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