APIC 2015 Annual Conference: June 27-29

Guest Author: Sally M. Hess, CIC, MPH Manager, Infection Prevention, University of Vermont Medical Center Chair, APIC 2015 Annual Conference Committee AAhh…..It’s the time of year here in New England that I anticipate the coming of warmer days; we are finally seeing green leaves and flowers! It’s also the time of year I start getting

Antibiotic Stewardship: Using Evidence-Based Safe Prescribing Practices

Guest Author – Jason G. Newland, MD MEd FPIDS Medical Director of Patient Safety and Systems Reliability Children’s Mercy Hospitals & Clinics, Kansas City, Missouri Antibiotic resistance is one of the nation’s most pressing public health threats. Yesterday CDC led several important discussions at the White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship. This forum is a

White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship

Author: CDC The White House is convening the Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 to bring together key human and animal health constituencies involved in the development, promotion, and implementation of activities to improve antib…

New protocol offers hospitals an option to detect bacterial contamination of duodenoscopes

Author: Michael Bell, MD Deputy Director of CDCs Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion Combatting antibiotic-resistant infections and protecting patients are national priorities. The President’s FY 2016 Budget invests in efforts to combat and prevent antibiotic resistance, and nearly doubles the amount of federal funding to more than $1.2 billion. The Administration has also issued its […]

C. diff survivor and advocate shares her story

Guest Author: Nancy C Caralla Founding Executive Director, President of the C Diff Foundation. My name is Nancy Caralla, and I know all too much about Clostridium difficile (C. diff).  I am a nurse and contracted C. diff while caring for patients suffering from this horrible infection. Now, I am a C. diff survivor. Tragically, […]

Antibiotic Resistance: Urgent Health Threat Jeopardizing Modern Medicine

Antibiotic resistance, the ability of bacteria to resist the effects of drugs, is perhaps the single most important infectious disease threat of our time.  Although some people are at greater risk than others, no one can completely avoid the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections. These infections affect real people and they can be horrible for patients. […]

Safe Injection Practices: Establishing the Habit in Residency

Guest Author: Aaron R. Ducoffe, MDUS Department of Health and Human Services In my first few weeks as a Health Policy and Quality Fellow, I immediately became intrigued with the CDC’s One & Only Campaign and its applicability to my former and upcoming planned specialties. I have learned in residency that a physician’s best and […]

Not Worth the Risk: Failing to Implement Basic Safe Injection Techniques

Guest Author: Andrew Engel, MDInternational Spine Intervention Society The International Spine Intervention Society supports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s safe injection practices. As a strong proponent of using evidence-based medicine and safe injection practices, the International Spine Intervention Society agrees with the message espoused by CDC’s new Key Standards for Pain Clinics [PDF […]

35 U.S. hospitals designated as Ebola treatment centers

CDC trains and assesses Ebola hospital readiness in collaborative effort An increasing number of U.S. hospitals are now equipped to treat patients with Ebola, giving nationwide health system Ebola readiness efforts a boost. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state health officials have identified and designated 35 hospitals with Ebola treatment […]

Antimicrobial Stewardship – a concept we must all embrace

Guest Author: Jennie L. Mayfield, BSN, MPH, CIC2014 President, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) A retrospective study from The University of Texas College of Pharmacy published in the October issue of the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC), found that C. difficile infections (CDI) nearly doubled from 2001 to 2010 in […]

Safe Diabetes Care: Insulin Pens are ONE Person ONLY

Guest Author: Ann L. Albright, PhD, RD Director, Division of Diabetes Translation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Diabetes is a chronic condition that is a 24/7 responsibility for everyone who has it. Diligence is necessary to manage diabetes, since its highs and lows can strike while we are otherwise busy with life. It is […]

Coming Out of “Deafening Silence” to Fight Sepsis Together

Guest Author: Steven Q. Simpson, MD University of Kansas and Sepsis Alliance What severe sepsis needs is the equivalent of an American Heart Association. An organization that exists to teach the general public, as well as physicians, how to save lives. Thanks, in large part, to the heart association, Americans are well versed in the […]

Executive Order Issued On One of the Most Urgent Health Concerns Facing Us Today

National Strategy to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria The announcement Thursday morning of the President’s Executive Order and the National Strategy to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria marks the administration’s response to one of the most urgent health threats facing us today – antibiotic resistance. Read more of the original post    

The Need for Sepsis Awareness: A Survivor’s Perspective

Guest Author: Dana Mirman In December 2011, a lack of awareness of sepsis – a disease responsible for more American deaths each year than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and AIDS combined – nearly cost me my life. It all began with a little bump on my shoulder one afternoon. When it all began, I did […]