Healthcare-Associated Infections & Antimicrobial Resistance
NACCHO supports local health departments (LHDs), which serve as chief community health strategists, to advocate and promote the growing role of LHDs in Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial resistance (AR) prevention and response and strengthen their capacity to prevent and control HAI/ARs.
Sign up for NACCHO's Transmission Digest e-newsletter for a monthly digest of news, tools, and resources related to infectious disease and immunization.
Latest HAI/AR News
- Funding Opportunity
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Community Health
- Healthcare-Associated Infections
Scholarship Opportunity for Local Health Department...
Apply today! NACCHO is offering a scholarship opportunity for local health...
Jan 09, 2023 | Jaclyn Abramson
Scholarship Opportunity for Local Health Department...
- Tools & Resources
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Community Health
- Healthcare-Associated Infections
HAI/AR Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs Exploratory...
HAIs and AMR are a threat to patients, and subsequently, public health safety....
Dec 01, 2022 | Jaclyn Abramson
HAI/AR Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs Exploratory...
- Webinar
- Antibiotic Resistance
- ID Featured
- Infection, Prevention, and Control
Webinar: Implementation of a Universal Decolonization...
The Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-Threatening Dissemination...
Oct 13, 2022 | Jaclyn Abramson
Webinar: Implementation of a Universal Decolonization...
- Tools & Resources
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Healthcare-Associated Infections
- Infection, Prevention, and Control
We are Small, but Mighty Part 2: NACCHO’s In-depth...
HAI/AR Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs Blog 6 of 6 Series
Oct 06, 2022 | Jaclyn Abramson, Candice Young
We are Small, but Mighty Part 2: NACCHO’s In-depth...
- Tools & Resources
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Healthcare-Associated Infections
- Infection, Prevention, and Control
HAIs, AMR, and AMS: In the Trenches and Out in the Field
HAI/AR Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs Blog 5 of 6 Series
Oct 06, 2022 | Jaclyn Abramson, Candice Young
HAIs, AMR, and AMS: In the Trenches and Out in the Field
- Tools & Resources
- Antibiotic Resistance
- Healthcare-Associated Infections
- Infection, Prevention, and Control
Building Capacity and Competency in HAI, AMR, and AMS...
HAI/AR Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs Blog 4 of 6 Series
Oct 06, 2022 | Jaclyn Abramson, Candice Young
Building Capacity and Competency in HAI, AMR, and AMS...
NACCHO developed several tools and resources to help local health departments prevent and control HAIs, including:
| Title | Description | Resource Type |
|---|---|---|
| Containing Multi-Drug-Resistant Organisms in a Long-Term Acute-Care Hospital | Learn how, in response to a novel “superbug” discovered at a long-term acute-care hospital, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County responded rapidly to contain the outbreak and create tools for future use. | CDC Field Notes |
| CDC’s New Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report Shows Persistent Problem | Read NACCHO's response to the CDC's Antibiotic Resistance Threats Report, 2019. | Press Release |
| NACCHO HAI Initiatives | Learn about NACCHO’s healthcare-associated infection projects and initiatives. | Fact Sheet |
| Antimicrobial Resistance & Stewardship: Local Efforts on a Global Issue | Learn how NACCHO and its members are working to address antimicrobial resistance and promote antibiotic stewardship. | Fact Sheet |
| The Role of Local Health Departments in Combating Healthcare-Associated Infections | This engaging two-minute video offers an overview of the potential role(s) local health departments can play in addressing HAIs at the community level. | Video |
| Healthcare-Associated Infections: A Toolkit for Local Health Departments | Developed in coordination with demonstration sites from NACCHO’s Lessons in INfection Control (LINC) program, this toolkit provides local health departments with guidance, best practices, tools, and resources for expanding activities related to improving local infection control, preparedness, and response. | Toolkit |
| Lessons in Infection Control: The Role of Local Health Departments in Prevention, Preparedness, and Response | Published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, this article summarizes the findings from NACCHO's LINC Initiative, which funded demonstration sites to enhance coordination in health care and community settings to improve infection control preparedness and response efforts across the nation. | Journal Article |
| Local Health Department Engagement in Health Care–Associated Infection and Antibiotic Resistance Work | Published in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, this article highlights results from NACCHO's Local Health Department Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antibiotic Stewardship Assessment. | Journal Article |
| Name | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Implementation of a Universal Decolonization Strategy through the SHIELD OC Program to Combat MDROs | 10/26/2022 | The Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-Threatening Dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in Orange County (SHIELD OC) Program, was a CDC-funded public health regional decolonization collaborative to combat the spread of endemic and emerging MDROs across healthcare facilities in Orange County, California. In this webinar, Dr. Susan Huang from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) discusses the UCI team’s experience working with 38 healthcare facilities, including 17 hospitals, 18 nursing homes, and 3 long-term acute care facilities that adopted the decolonization strategy. This program significantly reduced MDROs and resulted in large reductions in the proportion of nursing home residents hospitalized for infection. NACCHO is supporting UCI’s dissemination efforts to train other nursing homes to adopt this effective strategy through its Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antibiotic Resistance (HAI/AR) demonstration site program. |
| Strategies for Building and Maintaining Relationships with Nursing Homes to Reduce MDROs and COVID-19 Case Burden | 7/20/21 | Dr. Susan Huang from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) discusses the UCI team’s experience working with 27 nursing homes in Orange County, California to implement the Shared Healthcare Intervention to Eliminate Life-Threatening Dissemination of multidrug-resistant organisms in Orange County (SHIELD OC) Program. NACCHO is supporting UCI through its Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antibiotic Resistance (HAI/AR) demonstration site project. |
| Antibiotic Stewardship and Sepsis: A Balancing Act | 1/15/2020 | Hosted in December 2019 by Sepsis Alliance, this webinar presented an overview of antibiotic stewardship and recent research regarding antibiotic treatments and sepsis care. Speakers discussed strategies to prevent antibiotic resistance and provide optimal care for sepsis patients; presented the latest CDC guidance and new research on antibiotic stewardship, and shared antibiotic stewardship program experience in hospital settings. |
| Clinical and Public Health Partnerships for Antibiotic Stewardship | 8/15/19 | As conveners and chief health strategists in their communities, local health departments (LHDs) can be a valuable partner in supporting the adoption of antimicrobial stewardship practices in these and other settings. This webinar showcased a partnership between Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center (LAC+USC) and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Speakers discussed how the partnership was established and maintained, how it has improved stewardship efforts, challenges and lessons learned, and recommendations for other local health departments and essential hospitals interested in pursuing a similar partnership. |
| Local Health Department Role in Containment of Novel Resistance | 6/20/2019 | As issues with drug resistant pathogens have emerged across the country, local health departments (LHDs) have been called on to lead and support the containment of novel or targeted multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). To explore this role, NACCHO hosted a webinar to share the experiences of three LHDs who have been affected by containment events. |
| Introduction to Social Network Analysis: Broad Overview and a Demonstration of a Novice’s Guide Using R Statnet | 6/28/2018 | NACCHO hosted a webinar on conducting social network analyses, including what they look like and how they can be applied. Webinar participants were also led through an explanation and live demonstration of a recently developed toolkit from the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, A Novice’s Guide: Social Network Analysis Using R Statnet, which includes basic terminology and steps for conducting a social network analysis using free data analysis software. |
| Local Health Department Access to the National Healthcare Safety Network | 1/24/2018 | NACCHO hosted a webinar to discuss the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) —the nation’s most widely used healthcare-associated infection (HAI) tracking system— and upcoming changes to data use agreements that may impact how local health departments can more easily access NHSN data. Speakers included CDC representatives, and staff from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, both of whom shared the process they used to gain access to NHSN data, lessons learned, strategies for success, and current and future uses for the data. |
In an effort to highlight the role of NACCHO and local health departments in addressing issues related to healthcare-associated infections, NACCHO periodically develops feature articles. Check out the latest below:
- ELC Directly Funded Cities Share Resources for Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-Associated Infections
- Developing Regional Antibiograms to Monitor Resistance Patterns
- Containing an MDRO: Tools Developed During a Response
- Against Antimicrobial Resistance: A Local Commitment to Fighting a Global Threat
- Leveraging Local Knowledge and Expertise to Tackle Healthcare-Associated Infections
- Certification in Infection Control: Local Impact and Strategies for Success
- International Infection Prevention Week 2017: Local Approaches to Combating Antibiotic Resistance
- National Handwashing Week 2017: The Power of Preventative and Primary Intervention
- Blog Series: Antimicrobial Resistance & Global Health Security
The below stories were written by local health department staff to share their first-hand experiences addressing issues related to healthcare-associated infections:
- Florida Epidemiologists Combat HAIs by Becoming CIC® Certified — Florida Department of Health in Orange County
- Allegheny County Health Department Assesses Antibiotic Stewardship — Allegheny County (PA) Health Department
- The Evolving Role of Local Public Health in Promoting Safe Healthcare — Houston (TX) Health Department
NACCHO projects support and build workforce capacity for Local Health Departments (LHDs) and recognize that opportunities and challenges in rural, frontier, and small settings may be unique. If you are a Rural, Frontier or Small LHD, please join the Rural Café, Rural-Frontier LHD Projects or NACCHO’s Small LHD Virtual Community to receive information specific to your unique needs and to share knowledge and collaborate. LHD’s may sign up directly for the Rural Café with Victoria Freire at [email protected].
The resources below are specific to help Rural, Frontier, and Small LHDs prevent HAIs, AMRs, and/or AMSs.
The Council for Outbreak Response: Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) and Antimicrobial-Resistant Pathogens (AR) works to improve practices and policies at the local, state, and national levels for the detection, investigation, control, and prevention of HAI/AR outbreaks across the healthcare continuum. CORHA is a multidisciplinary collaboration of national associations and federal agencies working together since 2015 to improve methods to detect, investigate, control and prevent HAI/AR outbreaks. NACCHO is a founding member and has representation on the governance committee.
CORHA has a suite of resources, including condition or event-specific reference tools, such as thresholds for reporting, tools for investigation, and suggestions for standardized control measures.
Click here to subscribe to the CORHA mailing list for updates on new products, resources, news, and more!
The resources below have been developed by the NACCHO team to help your local health department prevent healthcare-associated infections.
NACCHO has several policy statements related to HAI/AR to help guide local health department practice.
Community Health Program
Christina Baum
Director, Infectious Disease
JavaScript is required to reveal this message. / email hidden; JavaScript is required
Community Health Program
Candice Young
Senior Program Analyst, Infectious Disease
JavaScript is required to reveal this message. / email hidden; JavaScript is required
Community Health Program
Jaclyn Abramson
Program Analyst, Infectious Disease
JavaScript is required to reveal this message. / email hidden; JavaScript is required
Community Health Program
Kimberly Nalley
Senior Program Analyst, Infectious Disease
JavaScript is required to reveal this message. / email hidden; JavaScript is required
Community Health Program
Trent Johnson
Program Analyst, Infectious Disease
JavaScript is required to reveal this message. / email hidden; JavaScript is required