Ashe has recently released an update version of the infection control risk assessments (ICRAs) tool. This is used during hospital design and construction projects has been evolving for the past several decades.

In July 2020, ASHE put together a multi­disciplinary team consisting of infection prevention and control, industrial hygiene, construction, facility management spe­cialists and authorities having jurisdiction to evaluate the existing ICRA matrix and to see how it could be improved to better serve health care organizations. This team met on a weekly basis throughout 2020 and into the first quarter of 2021 to accom­plish this objective.

While the foundation of the ICRA, The IC Matrix - Class of Precautions matrix, remains the fundamental process of the ICRA 2.0 one of the key improvements the team made was to expand on the descriptive language throughout all portions of the ICRA. The team spent several months discussing the various changes to ensure that all aspects of the tables were considered. This pro­vides greater clarity in the application of the ICRA.