Spotlight on Perinatal Quality Collaboratives

In honor of National Birth Defects Prevention Month, CDC Learning Connection features the Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (PQC’s). PQCs are networks of perinatal care providers and public health professionals working to improve pregnancy outcomes for women and newborns. Many states have active collaboratives, and others are in development. CDC worked with statewide PQCs to develop a series of webinars focused on specific quality improvement initiatives. Access the no-cost webinars and earn free continuing education.

Having a Healthy Baby – Focus on Five

The Michigan Department of Community Health’s Bureau of Epidemiology and Ohio Department of Health’s Bureau for Children with Special Needs are offering self-study trainings for healthcare providers interested in improving the preconception and interconception health of women of childbearing age. These self-studies provide information and resources addressing some common risk factors for poor reproductive outcomes, with a particular emphasis on recognizing and decreasing the risk for birth defects. Having a Healthy Baby—Focus on Five is a free distance-learning course available in CDC TRAIN. The course currently has an average rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars (127 reviews). Access the course and earn free CNE.

3-Day Ebola Safety Training Course for Healthcare Workers Going to West Africa

As part of the response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is offering a 3-day introductory training course for licensed clinicians planning to provide medical care in West African healthcare settings to patients with Ebola virus disease. The course takes place at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, Alabama and includes a combination of lecture-based training, small group exercises and practical “hands-on” simulations. The course offers 20.5 hours of free continuing education (CME, CNE, CPE and CEUs) for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health-care providers. More than 340 clinicians have already completed the training. Learn more and register today – remaining classes are filling up quickly!

Now Recruiting Trainers: CDC is currently recruiting course instructors with experience in one or more of the following areas:

Infection control, including experience being an infection control trainer or teacher
Working in a well-designed (e.g., WHO, Médecins Sans Frontières) Ebola Treatment Unit (ETU), and therefore experienced in donning and doffing personal protective equipment used in an ETU
Working in a resource-limited setting abroad, or, in particular, in West Africa during the current Ebola outbreak

Learn more about eligibility criteria and how to volunteer.

Web-Based Personal Protective Equipment Training

Image of CDC Ebola Preparedness PPE Guidelines

New web-based training demonstrates the procedures described in CDC guidance for donning and doffing (i.e., putting on and taking off) personal protective equipment (PPE) for all healthcare providers entering the room of a patient hospitalized with known or suspected Ebola virus disease (Ebola). The training provides practical tools for healthcare providers preparing to manage or currently managing patients with Ebola in U.S. healthcare facilities. Get these web-based training tools, which are also available through CDC TRAIN.