The RVH North Central Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Hub provides support to a variety of community partners in their IPAC practices. The Hub works closely with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) in providing this support and direction, and welcomes any questions that facilities within our region may have.
Examples of supported facilities include long-term care homes, retirement homes, shelters, assisted living centres, developmental services, and other organizations which provide assistance to others. Below you will find resources which may be accessed and distributed to support IPAC best practices.
Note: There will be no CoP meeting in July 2025, and the next RVH IPAC Hub CoP is scheduled for August 21, 2025 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST.
Contact Information:
Manager: Lisa Dufour, BScH, BScN, MSc PHCNP
Phone: 705-728-9090 Ext. 44550
Email: dufourl@rvh.on.ca
Administrative Assistant: Kelly Hammill
Phone: 705-728-9090 Ext. 44557
Email: hammillk@rvh.on.ca
Ashley Allan RN, BScN, CIC®
Regional IPAC Practitioner
Tel: (705) 817-6315
Email: allana@rvh.on.ca
Mustansir Diwan, MSc, CIC®, LTC-CIP®
Regional IPAC Practitioner
Tel: (249) 535-4269
Email: diwanm@rvh.on.ca
Ashley Scopel, RN, BScN
Regional IPAC Practitioner
Tel: (705) 817-3316
Email: scopela@rvh.on.ca
Tyeler Zusko, BSc, CIC®
Regional IPAC Practitioner
Tel: (705) 229-9846
Email: zuskot@rvh.on.ca
The RVH IPAC Hub works in coordination with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit (SMDHU) to build the overall IPAC capacity of the supported homes in the Simcoe Muskoka region and prevent spread of communicable disease within these settings. Services provided include but are not limited to the following:
- On-site IPAC assessments
- IPAC education and training for staff and residents/clients
- A Community of Practice (CoP), with monthly meetings (every third Thursday of the month) that includes attendance from Public Health Ontario and SMDHU liaisons
- Recommendations on IPAC best practices
- Implementation support
- Outbreak management in collaboration with SMDHU
May 2025 – The Legacy of Hand Hygiene: From Nightingale to World Hand Hygiene Day
Apr 2025 – The Rash of Us: Tracking the Measles Comeback
Mar 2025 – Influenza A & B: The Double Threat You Can’t Ignore
Feb 2025 – Suspect an Enteric Outbreak at your Home/Facility?
Jan 2025 – Say it, Don’t Spray It – Respiratory Etiquette
Dec 2024 – Medical Masks vs N95 Respirators | The Three Bricklayers Story
Nov 2024 – Holiday Season Celebrations in Congregate Living Settings
Oct 2024 – National Infection Control Week
Sept 2024 – Nasopharyngeal Specimen Collection
Aug 2024 – Fall Preparedness and Addressing Concerns about the Flu Shot
Jul 2024 – Environmental Cleaning
May 2024 – One Flu Over the Cattle Ranch
Apr 2024 – Spring 2024 COVID-19 Vaccine
Mar 2024 – World Tuberculosis Day
Jan 2024 – The New JN.1 Subvariant
Dec 2023 – Impact of COVID-19 on Ontario’s CLS in 2023
Nov 2023 – Holiday Season Decorations
Oct 2023 – Addressing Concerns about COVID-19 Vaccine
Sept 2023 – Is COVID-19 Just Like the Flu Now?
Aug 2023 – Point of Care Risk Assessment
Jul 2023 – COVID-19 Booster Update
Jun 2023 – Bacterial Foodborne Illness
May 2023 – What is Lyme Disease?
Apr 2023 – World Hand Hygiene Day
Mar 2023 – Medical Device Reprocessing
Jan 2023 – Omicron and the ‘Variant Soup’
Nov 2022 – Respiratory Virus Activity in Ontario
Oct 2022 – Updated COVID-19 Guidance for CLS
Sept 2022 – Who Needs the Flu Vaccine?
Aug 2022 – New Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccine
Jul 2022 – The BA.4 and BA.5 Subvariants
Jun 2022 – What is Test Positivity & Why Does it Matter?
May 2022 – Impact of COVID-19 Waves on LTCHs in Ontario
Apr 2022 – The BA.2 Subvariant
Mar 2022 – Boosting Immunity to Omicron
Feb 2022 – Fact vs. Fiction: Omicron and COVID-19 Vaccine
Jan 2022 – Progression of Viral Load with Delta Variant
06-2025 Despicable CPE – Managing CPE in Congregate Living Settings [NEW]
05-2025 Celebrating World Hand Hygiene Day
04-2025 The Rash of Us – Managing Measles in Congregate Living Settings
03-2025 The Fast and the Infectious – Managing Norovirus
02-2025 Introduction to ARO Education Need Survey Project for LTCHs
01-2025 Routine Practices and Additional Precautions
11-2024 SMDHU Outbreak Resource Update
11-2024 IPAC and Cultural Considerations
10-2024 CloroxPro Lunch & Learn Recap – IPAC Canada 2024 National Conference
09-2024 Fall Preparedness 2024 by SMDHU
07-2024 The Dirty on Disinfectants and OSMH EVS Roadshow
04-2024 Managing Measles in Congregate Living
03-2024 Auditing for LTCHs, RHs, CLS
01-2024 Bed Bugs and Lice Toolkit
11-2023 CloroxPro Lunch and Learn – Review of IPAC Canada 2023 National Conference
10-2023 Tuberculosis (TB) Toolkit
09-2023 A Short Introduction to MLITSD Role
09-2023 Outbreak Management by SMDHU
08-2023 Fall Preparedness/Respiratory Viruses
07-2023 Preventing Bacterial Foodborne Illness
06-2023 Ticks, Lyme Disease, and West Nile Virus
05-2023 Sexually-Transmitted Blood-borne-Infections
04-2023 Hep B and its IPAC Implications
03-2023 Medical Device Reprocessing
02-2023 An overview of GAS disease
01-2023 What does it mean when there’s a new variant?
12-2022 Yuletide and the Pandemic
11-2022 Navigating Through the Current Infodemic
09-2022 Additional Precautions Signage
05-2022 Supporting People Through Isolation
04-2022 Strategic Plan 2022-23
02-2022 Sector-IPAC MicroCredentials Presentation
10-2021 Planning & Tools for Respiratory Virus Season
08-2021 IPAC Practitioners COVID-19 Update
06-2021 PHO LTCH CoP Hub IPAC Education
04-2021 ONT Health LTCH CoP Northern Central Hub Cohorting & Physical Distancing
03-2021 SMRCP IPAC Hub Community of Practice
- Ontario’s Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) Standard for Long-Term Care Homes
- MOH Recommendations for Outbreak Prevention and Control in Institutions and Congregate Living Settings, February 2025
- MOH Appendix 1: Case Definitions for Respiratory Infection Outbreaks in Institutions and Public Hospitals – Sept 2024
- MOH Appendix 1: Case Definitions for COVID-19 – Oct 2024
- SMDHU Weekly Respiratory Virus Update – 2024-2025 Season
- PHO Ontario Respiratory Virus Tool
- PHO IPAC Checklist for Long-Term Care and Retirement Homes – Mar 2025
- PHO Outbreak Preparedness, Prevention and Management in CLS – Mar 2025
- PHO IPAC Self-Assessment Audit Tool for LTC and RHs – Dec 2024
- PIDAC Routine Practices and Additional Precautions in all Health Care Settings, 3rd Ed – rev. June 2025 [NEW]
- PIDAC Best Practices for the Prevention of Acute Respiratory Infection Transmission in All Health Care Settings – rev. Dec 2024
- PHO – IPAC for Long-Term Care and Retirement Home
- PHO – IPAC for Congregate Living Settings
- Retirement Homes Regulatory Authority (RHRA) Special Advisories
- SMDHU Current Outbreaks List
- SMDHU Outbreak Resources
- SMDHU Disease of Public Health Significance (DoPHS)
- IPAC Canada Webinars (archive plus registration for upcoming webinars)
- The Canadian Journal of Infection Control
- Canadian Standards Association (CSA) new CSA Z8004:22 standards document for LTCH operations and IPAC
Last Updated: June 19, 2025