Staffing Calculator
Introducing APIC’s Staffing Calculator
This version uses existing literature to offer recommendations for staffing based on key risk factors. With user input, the rigor behind the calculator’s algorithm will grow over time, and an updated version will be released to reflect the accumulated data in 2024. Sharing your data now will help APIC to build the most robust prediction model, and providing feedback on the usability of the calculator will help us to make the tool as user-friendly as possible
This beta version* includes three separate calculators: Acute Care hospital, Long-Term Care, and Ambulatory Clinic. See more below.
Get Started
A list of the components that are required for each of the three calculators can be found here to allow sufficient time to gather information before launching the calculator. All required data fields necessary in order for the calculation to be displayed. You may save progress and return at a later time to complete the survey if needed.
Acute Care Hospital Calculator
Questions in the New APIC Staffing Calculator:
- Facility name – most facilities except those with <25 beds will auto-populate. Select your facility and the CCN, state and zip code will populate.
- <25 bed hospitals – facility name, CCN, state, zip code
- Number of licensed beds.
- Basic demographics (>50 beds):
- How many infection prevention FTEs are dedicated to your facility?
- What is your facility’s Case Mix Index (CMI)?
- How many medical director FTE are dedicated to your facility?
- Basic demographics (<51 beds):
- How many infection prevention FTEs are dedicated to your facility?
- What is the average length of stay (ALOS) in days at your facility?
- What is the average number of admissions per month at your facility?
- What is your facility’s Case Mix Index (CMI)?
- How many medical director FTE are dedicated to your facility?
- Services offered (>50 beds):
- Does your facility have an inpatient psychiatric unit?
- Does your facility have a burn unit?
- Does your facility have an inpatient rehab unit?
- Does your facility have a transplant unit (of any type)?
- Are microbiology services conducted on site at your facility or sent off to another lab?
- How many ambulatory clinics does your infection prevention program cover (i.e., the clinics are covered by the hospital’s license and accrediting footprint)?
- Does your infection prevention program dedicate specific FTE to the ambulatory program?
- Services offered (<51 beds):
- Does your facility have an Intensive Care Unit?
- Does your facility have an Emergency Department
- Does your facility conduct surgical procedures
- Are microbiology services conducted on site at your facility or sent off to another lab?
- How many ambulatory clinics does your infection prevention program cover (i.e., the clinics are covered by the hospital’s license and accrediting footprint)?
- Does your infection prevention program dedicate specific FTE to the ambulatory program?
- Population served:
- How many patients with tuberculosis were admitted to your facility during the last calendar year?
- How many patients with C. auris colonization or infection were admitted to your facility during the last calendar year?
- Outcomes
- How many infection prevention-specific citations did your facility have on your last accreditation survey?
- How many infection prevention-specific citations has your facility had from a regulatory agency in the last 12 months?
- How many of the 29 NHSN Surgical Site Infection procedure types are required reporting by your facility?
- Organizational design
- Is your facility part of a larger healthcare system?
- Is there a system surveillance team that conducts surveillance for your facility?
- Which electronic medical record does your facility utilize?
- Which infection prevention surveillance system does your facility utilize?
- How many level 3, 4, and 5 construction/renovation ICRA’s (Infection Control Risk Assessment) did your facility issue during the last full calendar year?
- Is the infection prevention department at your organization responsible for management of the antimicrobial stewardship program?
- Is the infection prevention department at your organization responsible for management of the employee health program?
- Does your facility have employed physicians, non-employed physicians, or a combination?
- Program assessment
- On a scale of 1 to 5, how adequate do you assess infection preventionist staffing to be currently at your facility (1 being inadequately resourced, 3 being adequately resourced, 5 being highly resourced)
- Rank your infection prevention program effectiveness
- On a scale of 1 to 5, how adequate do you assess medical director staffing to be currently at your facility (1 being inadequately resourced, 3 being adequately resourced, 5 being highly resourced)
Long-term care Calculator
Ambulatory clinic calculator
- Facility Name
- What state is your facility located in?
- What county is your facility located in?
- How many infection prevention FTEs do you currently have dedicated to your ambulatory clinics?
- Combined question – for each infection preventionist (IP), tell us how long they have been in IP, if they are CIC certified, and what their degrees are
- Does your facility have infection prevention surveillance software?
- How many ambulatory clinics does your IP program cover?
- Do any of your ambulatory clinics perform aerosol-generating procedures?
- Do any of your ambulatory clinics perform high level disinfection or sterilization?
- Do any of your ambulatory clinics care for patients with tuberculosis?
- How many patient visits does your facility combined have per year?
- How many exam rooms are in your facilities combined?
- What is the combined square footage of your facilities?
This tool is currently in development, and the data collected from participating facilities will be utilized to update the calculators and provide the most accurate staffing recommendations. Your participation in this process is greatly appreciated.
Disclaimer
- These calculators utilize a combination of factors to determine staffing recommendations, including facility size, patient acuity, services provided, and surveillance report. This tool should be used combination with a facility-level risk assessment to ensure adequate staffing coverage.
- Local, state, and federal health authority staffing requirements supersede the recommendations provided in this calculator.
References
The baseline staffing ratio utilized within this calculator is 1 IP per 69 licensed beds, reference below. Additional data points are utilized to modify your facility’s overall recommendation
Bartles R, Dickson A, Babade O. A systematic approach to quantifying infection prevention staffing and coverage needs. Am J Infect Control. 2018 May;46(5):487-491. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2017.11.006. Epub 2018 Jan 4. PMID: 29307751.