Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Oregon Health Authority logo

Communicable Disease Trainings and Toolkits

Trainings and Toolkits

This page provides resources developed by Oregon Health Authority and our partners to enhance communicable disease skills for staff in various settings.

  • CD 101 Training
  • CD 303 Training
Both classes will be in person, and virtual sessions will be offered in early winter.

CD 101 Training

This course is designed for new communicable disease investigators in Oregon. It covers the basics of communicable diseases, reporting requirements for notifiable diseases in Oregon, the use of the Oregon Investigative Guidelines for disease prevention and control, and services provided by the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory (OSPHL).


Who: Local Health Department staff, environmental health specialists, and others who investigate communicable disease


Prerequisite: CD 101 (Please contact Angela Phan at angela.k.phan@oha.oregon.gov if you have not taken CD 101  and are interested in taking course)

NOTE: This course will not cover COVID-19 specific information.


Next Training:  Oregon Epidemiologist Meeting 2026
                          Wednesday, April 29, 2026  
                          8:00 am - 2:30 pm

 

Materials: Participants will be provided with an electronic copy of the slides and exercises a week before the class via email. For physical copies, please print them beforehand. 

1. Communicable Disease a Primer

2. Disease Reporting

3. Types of Lab Tests

4. Investigative Guidelines

5. OSPHL Overview

6. Communicable Disease Exercise and Resources

CD 101 - Agenda

CD 101 - Appendix - All Links (PDF)

CD 101 - Appendix - All Links (Word)

CD 101 - Glossary - Terminology

CD 101 - Course Exercises (PDF)

CD 101 - Course Exercises (Word)

 

Questions? Contact Angela Phan at angela.k.phan@oha.oregon.gov 


CD 303 Training

This course focuses on the steps in an outbreak investigation, communicable disease surveillance, descriptive epidemiology, study design and analytic epidemiology, interviewing and questionnaire development, and taking action during an outbreak.

Who: Local Health Department staff, tribal health staff, environmental health specialists, and others involved in communicable disease investigation.

 

Prerequisite: CD 101 (Please contact Angela Phan at angela.k.phan@oha.oregon.gov if you have not taken CD 101 by September 2025, and are interested in taking course).

 

Who: Local Health Department staff, environmental health specialists, and others who investigate communicable disease


Prerequisite: CD 101 (Please contact Angela Phan at angela.k.phan@oha.oregon.gov if you have not taken CD 101  and are interested in taking course)

NOTE: This course will not cover COVID-19 specific information.


Next Training:  Oregon Epidemiologist Meeting 2026
                          Wednesday, April 29, 2026  
                          8:00 am - 2:30 pm


Course Materials: 

Questions? Contact Angela Phan at angela.k.phan@oha.oregon.gov 


Healthcare Providers

Online Training Modules

  • Interpersonal Antibiotic Stewardship
    Online Training Module: This CE activity, designed for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, reviews:
    • The problem of overuse of antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria
    • The need for antibiotic stewardship programs
    • How to apply an adapted version of motivational skills, processes and techniques to antibiotic stewardship interactions
  • Having Difficult Conversations
    Online training module: Introduces motivational interviewing techniques, local statistics, and case studies to provide participants with tools to successfully work through conflict related to over use of antibiotics.

Toolkits

  • Oregon Multidrug-Resistant Organism (MDRO) Toolkit (pdf)
    Toolkit: This toolkit provides recommendations to Oregon healthcare facilities about strategies to prevent transmission of MDROs and Clostridioides (formerly Clostridium) difficile during patient care.
    • Note: This is a working document addressing high-impact organisms in Oregon hospitals. Given the continually evolving infection prevention and control landscape, including novel and emerging pathogens, this document will be updated as needed. The format will also be updated to align with Oregon Health Authority branding and style.
  • CDI Toolkit (pdf)
    Toolkit: Complete document of education, FAQs, NHSN enrollment tools.

  • Early Identification and Isolation of Contagious Patient... It can happen in the Emergency Department Triage!
    Online Training: This training which will teach you how to:
    • Identify Patients with high risk contagious infectious diseases
    • Choose appropriate isolation precautions for the patient's presenting signs and symptoms
    • Inform appropriate individuals about patients with suspected infectious diseases
    • Protect yourself and others from infectious exposures

  • Safe Injection Practices​
    Online Training: Interactive 20-minute online training that describes the impact of unsafe needle and injection practices, CDC recommendations for best practices and how professionals can champion needle and injection safety in their facilities. Developed by the OHA HAI program. Note: After clicking the above link, you will be prompted to create an iLearn account to gain access to additional online training modules. Please use Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge for best results.
  • Injection Safety Toolkit
    Resource list: Provides tools and resources on safe injection practices and needle use for healthcare providers and the public.
  • NHSN Training Page
    Online Training: NHSN provides learning opportunities in a variety of formats that enhance the knowledge and skills of NHSN facility- and group-level participants and their partners in order that they may effectively use the data obtained from the surveillance system to improve patient and healthcare personnel safety.
​

Long-Term Care Facilities

  • Long-Term Care Facility HAI Toolkit
    Toolkit: This resource page is a collection of guidance documents, trainings and educational materials to support long-term care facilities in preventing and responding to Healthcare-Associated Infections.
  • Norovirus Outbreak Detection and Management (pdf)
    Toolkit: Oregon Health Authority Toolkit specifically for long-term care facilities

  • CDC and CMS Nursing Home Infection Preventionist Training
    Online-Training Module: This course provides infection prevention and control (IPC) training for individuals responsible for IPC programs in nursing homes to implement programs and ensure adherence to recommended practices by front-line staff.
  • Getting Ready for Influenza and Norovirus: Key Information for Long-Term Care Facilities (LTCFs)
    Webinar Recording: Provides information about influenza and norovirus symptoms, modes of transmission, and strategies to prevent spread. Introduces and explains a new law promoting recognition, reporting, and control of disease outbreaks in LTCFs. Reviews current recommendations from Oregon Health Authority regarding transfer of recovering influenza and norovirus patients from hospitals to LTCFs.

Local Public Health and Tribal Health

Communicable Disease 101 and 303 class schedule: These courses​ are fully virtual and occur in two 4.5 hour virtual sessions.  They are ​designed for communicable disease investigators in Oregon. 
Note: These courses will NOT cover COVID-19 specific information.

  • ​​CD 101 (Communicable Disease Control: The Basics)
    October 29, 2024 (8:30-12:30) You must attend both sessions. ​
    Registration link​
    Check back for links to materials
CD 101 and CD 303 will be offered during OR Epi 2024 on April 3. OR Epi Participants are advised against registering for both classes at OR-Epi on the same date. Additionally, CD 101 is a prerequisite for CD 303. ​
  • CD 101  (Communicable Disease Control: The Basics)​
  • CD 303 (Outbreak Essentials)
    Check back for links to materials and registration
    ​​

Where: Mid-Columbia Fire & Rescue, 1400 W 8th St, The Dalles, OR 97058​

Questions Contact: Angela Phan

Orpheus Trainings
Online training resources: Online training videos and other resources to assist Orpheus users.

Outbreak Interviewing Strategies
Online training videos: The Oregon Health Authority presents training videos on disease outbreak interviewing techniques to train staff and volunteers to assist with surge capacity during outbreaks. The video explains the 10 cardinal rules of effective interviewing.

​

The links below provide guidelines for outbreak-specific investigations

National and partner-state foodborne outbreak resources

See Also

  • CD Summary
    Publication/CE opportunity: The CD Summary is a publication of the Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division. The intended audience includes: licensed healthcare providers, public health and health care agencies, representatives of the media, medical laboratories, hospitals, and others with an interest in epidemiology and public health. 
  • CDC's Norovirus in Healthcare Settings
    Toolkit: Symptoms, transmission and prevention of Norovirus and a list of resources. 
  • Essence Hazard Report (Oregon's Syndromic Surveillance Project)
    Report: Essence provides real-time data for public health and hospitals to monitor what is happening in emergency departments across the state before, during and after a public health emergency. 
  • Flubites
    Report: Oregon's Weekly influenza surveillance report. 
  • Infection Prevention YouTube Training Video Series
    Training Video Series: This collection of training videos support healthcare facilities in infection prevention and control. Several videos are available in both English and Spanish. 
  • R​espira​tory Disease Outbreaks
    Informational Webpage: Provides step by step guidance for responding to a respiratory disease outbreak.