Washington, DC, April 17, 2023—The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s nearly 3,000 local health departments, with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Division of Healthcare Quality and Promotion, has announced the awards for the Local Health Department Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR) project. These funds will support the eleven selected local health departments to pilot and implement the CDC (Interim) Local Health Department Strategy for HAI/AR.

HAIs are among the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States. The CDC estimates that one in 31 hospital patients are infected with at least one HAI, and AR is a major public health threat that compounds the challenge of HAIs. Antimicrobial-resistant infections cause more than 35,000 deaths each year, and nine of the top 18 infections considered to be the highest AR threats are often associated with healthcare settings.

The selected local health departments will use the CDC (Interim) Local Health Department Strategy for HAI/AR to enhance the capacity of HAI/AR prevention and response, including through conducting infection control assessments, strengthening antimicrobial stewardship efforts, improving laboratory coordination, and enhancing HAI/AR data reporting and access. They will also coordinate with stakeholders at the local and state levels to advance these efforts. The eleven selected local health department participants are:

• Cass County Health Department, IL
• City of Cincinnati Health Department, OH
• City of Long Beach Health and Human Services, CA
• Fairfax County Health Department, VA
• Farmington Valley Health Department, CT
• Florida Department of Health in Polk County, FL
• Hennepin County Public Health, MN
• Kern County Public Health, CA
• Lake County Health Department and Community Health Center, IL
• Monongalia County Health Department, WV
• West Hartford-Bloomfield Health District, CT

These local health departments will implement this project through July 2023.

To learn more about the NACCHO HAI/AR portfolio, please visit our webpage here.

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About NACCHO

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.