Mrs Michelle Bolte1, Tammy McMahon1, Linda Pottahuparambil1
1Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital, Tamworth, Australia
Biography:
Michelle Bolte is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in Infection Prevention at Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital. She leads the Infection Prevention Connect program and has won ACIPC Best Poster awards in 2021, 2023, and 2024. Michelle is passionate about rural innovation, leadership development, and improving patient outcomes through evidence-based practice.
Abstract:
In 2017, a busy 300-bed Rural Referral Hospital in New South Wales faced persistent infection prevention challenges common in many rural healthcare settings. With only one Infection Prevention Consultant and a small team of hand hygiene auditors, the facility struggled with device-associated Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections, rising surgical site infections in caesarean section patients, and low hand hygiene compliance.
In response, a nurse-led, practice-based innovation was developed in 2018 with the support of the Director of Nursing. The Infection Prevention Connect program established a network of infection prevention link nurses and wardsmen across hospital units. Each was allocated one day per month to receive targeted training, perform audits, lead peer education, and implement quality improvement initiatives.
The team has grown from one to 16 frontline staff acting as change agents within their wards. Over the past eight years, the program has driven measurable reductions in infection rates, sustained improvements in hand hygiene compliance, and produced several award-winning quality projects.
This model highlights how rural facilities can successfully build leadership and capacity from within, using existing staff and evidence-informed strategies. It demonstrates how empowering frontline teams leads to stronger safety culture, improved patient outcomes, and sustainable change.
Infection Prevention Connect is a scalable, evidence-based approach to embedding infection prevention in everyday practice—one that turns isolated effort into collaborative leadership and builds circles of influence from the ground up.