Bureau of Communicable Diseases guidance on return to work for health care personnel following an acute respiratory illness – DON’s Council’s additional guidance
Dear members:
Late last week, you should have received the guidance below from the Bureau of Communicable Diseases (BCD) on return to work for health care personnel following an acute respiratory illness. The BCD generated much discussion among Directors of Nursing (DON) across the state. In follow up, our colleagues at the Wisconsin DON Council have prepared the following additional guidance that we hope you find helpful:
BCD 2025-04 Health Care Personnel Exclusion and Return to Work Following an Acute Respiratory Illness. The purpose of this guidance is to prevent healthcare-associated transmission of respiratory viral infections by defining when health care personnel (HCP) should be excluded from work and when they may safely return. This guidance applies to common and seasonal respiratory viruses that circulate in Wisconsin each year, such as influenza, RSV, parainfluenza, rhinovirus/enterovirus, and SARS-CoV-2. It does not apply to novel viral pathogens including avian influenza, for which other public health guidance is available. The recommendations are based upon the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee transcript from Nov 14-15, 2024 View Here
Organizations may choose to implement policies that are more conservative (i.e. CDC Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 ) based on their facility risk assessment or high-risk units or settings. It is a great time for you to conduct an Infection Control Risk Assessment to guide your decision making. Sample Infection Control Risk Assessment templates can be located on the Tools and Template section of the WI HAI Prevention Program webpage or reach out directly to a Regional Infection Preventionist- they are here to help and support us!
WI Division of Public Health (DPH) is working diligently to release a complimentary document to guide the evaluation and implementation of this IPC practice change. As soon as it is available, we will work with the WI HAI Prevention Program to join an upcoming support call and walk us though key considerations and implementation strategies.
In the meantime, start the conversation in your organization (include your medical director) about factors that affect HCP return to work in your organization and begin to plan your next steps.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has issued DPH Numbered Memo BCD 2025-04. This memo provides guidance to prevent health care-associated transmission of respiratory viral infections by defining when health care personnel (HCP) should be excluded from work and when they may safely return.
This guidance applies to common and seasonal respiratory viruses that circulate in Wisconsin each year such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), parainfluenza, rhinovirus/enterovirus, and SARS-CoV-2.
