Episode 9 — The Importance of a Point of Care Risk Assessment (PCRA)

A Point of Care Risk Assessment, or PCRA, is any interaction with a resident or patient in which healthcare workers make rapid decisions throughout their shift to reduce their risk of exposure:

• What is the risk of exposure?

• What PPE is required?

• Is this the right environment for this task?

• What precautions are needed based on what I see, hear, and know?

In this episode, I walk through the purpose of a PCRA, why it’s distinct from Routine Practices and Additional Precautions, and how frontline staff use PCRA as a real-time safety tool to protect residents, patients, and themselves.

We’ll cover:

✔ What a PCRA is and why it matters

✔ How frontline staff use PCRA thinking before every interaction

✔ The difference between PCRA and Routine Practices

✔ Practical examples from acute care, LTC, and community

✔ How PCRAs support safe workflows and reduce preventable exposures

This is a foundational concept in IPAC — and when done consistently, it strengthens safety culture, reduces transmission risk, and improves decision-making at every point of care.

Healthcare teams need PPE systems that adapt to real-world needs—not rigid designs that never fit the environment. After 23 years in infection control and healthcare leadership, I’ve seen the same challenges repeated across LTC, acute care, and community settings.

To solve this, I’m building a modular, configurable PPE storage system—a “LEGO-style” approach that allows gloves, masks, gowns, wipes, face shields, and other components to be rearranged, removed, added, or replaced in seconds.

The next step is developing a full CAD-engineered, 3D-printed prototype.

To make this possible, I’m seeking:

1️⃣ Engineering or Capstone Teams

– Schools of engineering, design, CAD, product development

– Looking for a meaningful, real-world innovation project

2️⃣ Sponsors & Industry Partners

- GOJO, Diversey/Solenis, Virox, Medline, Clorox Healthcare, Sani Marc, Cardinal Health, 3M, Ecolab, and others

– Funding or material support for prototype development

3️⃣ Healthcare Pilot Sites

- Extendicare, Shannex, Revera, Northwood, Bayshore, Nova Scotia Health, Horizon, Acute Care & LTC partners

– For real-world testing and workflow validation

If your organization is interested in collaborating, sponsoring, or piloting this modular PPE system, I’d be happy to connect.

📩 Contact:

Wayne Tucker, MSc, EMBA, CIC, LTC-CIP

Founder – Infection Control Exchange Ecosystem

tuckerwayne100@gmail.com

Let’s build infection-control tools that actually work for healthcare teams.

Episode 8 – Who I Am & How I Support Healthcare Organizations

In this special episode of The Infection Control Exchange, I take a step back from the technical topics and share more about my background, my journey in infection prevention, and the hands-on support I provide across long-term care, acute care, and community settings.

In this episode, I discuss:

• My education, credentials, and professional experience

• How I approach IPAC challenges in real-world environments

• Guiding teams through inspections, audits, and compliance work

• Lessons learned from outbreaks and complex cases

• Supporting frontline teams, leaders, and quality programs

• Why I design practical tools, workflows, and educational products

• The purpose and vision behind The Infection Control Exchange Ecosystem

If you’re considering IPAC consulting, leadership support, outbreak assistance, or practical problem-solving for your organization, this episode is the best introduction to how I can help.

🎙 Hosted by: Wayne Tucker (MSc, EMBA, CIC, LTC-CIP)

Episode 7 - Inspections and Compliance: A Practical Guide for IPAC Leaders

In this episode of The Infection Control Exchange, host Wayne Tucker breaks down the realities of inspection and compliance in long-term care, drawing from years of firsthand experience with Ministry of Health inspections.

Inspections often create anxiety — but they don’t have to. With the right approach, inspections can become opportunities to strengthen your infection prevention program, improve communication, and demonstrate system control.

This episode explores:

• Why inspectors enter long-term care homes and what they evaluate

• How to set a professional, positive tone the moment they arrive

• The importance of timely and organized documentation

• Proactive rounding during inspections — and why it matters

• Communicating effectively and avoiding defensiveness

• Developing corrective action plans inspectors can trust

• Turning inspection findings into a long-term quality improvement strategy.

Whether you’re an IPAC professional, healthcare leader, or LTC administrator, this episode offers practical guidance to help you navigate inspections with clarity, confidence, and leadership.

A successful inspection occurs when the team works together to build an IPAC culture. When you have achieved that culture, you are ready for anything, including an LTC inspection. You are doing what you do y

🎧 The Infection Control Exchange — advancing infection prevention culture, leadership, and practical education.

🎙️ Episode 6 — A Day in the Life of an Infection Preventionist

What does a typical day look like for an Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) professional? In this two-part episode, Wayne Tucker walks through a realistic day in the life of an Infection Preventionist/IPAC Professional working in long-term care — from proactive surveillance and communication to managing an emerging outbreak.

Part 1:

A regular Monday begins with reviewing PCR swabs and weekend lab results, following up with Public Health as needed, and checking on symptomatic residents. Wayne shares how daily routines like supply checks, PPE readiness, and staff rounding help maintain a strong infection control culture and relationships across all departments.

Part 2:

An ordinary day quickly shifts when new symptomatic cases arise and an outbreak is declared. Wayne covers the immediate response — outbreak signage, team huddles, Public Health coordination, submitting line lists, enhanced disinfecting for high touch areas, and real-time communication updates with staff, families, and medical teams.

This episode captures the fast-paced, multidisciplinary nature of infection prevention — where every action, connection, and decision helps protect residents, staff and visitors.

🎧 Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

🦠 The Infection Control Exchange – advancing IPAC culture, leadership, and learning.

Even though hand hygiene remains one of the most effective infection control measures against the spread of infectious disease, compliance in healthcare settings continues to fall short worldwide. Why is something so simple still so difficult to sustain?

In this episode, Wayne Tucker explores the complex human, cultural, and system-level factors behind missed hand hygiene opportunities. From busy clinical environments and glove overreliance to gaps in leadership visibility and feedback culture, each segment examines why compliance remains a challenge not only in Nova Scotia and Canada, but across the globe.

Wayne also discusses how rapid workflow, poor technique, and short application times often lead to missed areas of the hands. He highlights evidence-based strategies to strengthen daily practice: real-time feedback, peer modelling, improved accessibility, and supportive leadership that normalizeshand hygiene as an expected professional reflex rather than a monitored task.

The episode closes with a key message: improving hand hygiene isn’t a campaign — it’s a cultural movement. When healthcare organizations combine strong systems, positive reinforcement, and human-centered design, hand hygiene performance becomes part of the DNA of safe care.

Hosted by Wayne Tucker, The Infection Control Exchange.

In this episode of The Infection Control Exchange, host Wayne Tucker explores what it truly means to build an Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) culture that goes beyond policies and procedures.

From leadership visibility to staff engagement, Wayne discusses how strong IPAC cultures are reflected in daily practice, not just written standards and policies. He shares real-world insights from long-term care and healthcare leadership—illustrating how small, consistent actions shape safer environments for residents, patients, and staff.

Topics include:

• - Defining what “IPAC culture” really means in practice

• - The role of leadership visibility, recognition, and modelling behaviour

  - Overcoming common barriers like compliance fatigue and communication gaps

  - Sustaining engagement and collaboration for IPAC beyond outbreak periods to be part of daily routines to protect vulnerable residents and patients.

  
  Whether you’re an IPAC professional, quality leader, or healthcare manager, this episode will inspire reflection on how to strengthen infection prevention culture across your team or organization.

  Listen now and join the IPAC conversation.

In this episode of Infection Control Exchange, Wayne Tucker explores what’s working — and what still needs improvement — in infection prevention and control across healthcare environments. Drawing from experience and data, he discusses real-world challenges, system gaps, and examples of successful practices that are making a measurable difference in patient and staff safety.

🎧 Host: Wayne Tucker, MSc, EMBA, LTC-CIP, CIC

💡 Theme: Leadership, infection control, quality, and lessons learned from the field