Atlanta, GA (March 19, 2010)—During the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) awarded their first Partnership in Prevention Award to the National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia. The award was created to recognize and celebrate the efforts of multidisciplinary teams working together to champion infection prevention efforts within their healthcare organization.
Award candidates were required to demonstrate: • an increase in priority of infection prevention within the organization; • an increase in investment of resources to achieve reductions in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and a reduction in one or more of such infections; • an increase in implementation of evidence-based practices for the reduction of HAIs; • sustainability of team approach to change; and • an advancement of cultural, process, or resource change to other areas of the facility.
"The elimination of healthcare-associated infections demands not only a commitment of resources, but a commitment across all levels of the healthcare institution, including the C-Suite, the frontline healthcare professional, and support staff, to creative and continuous quality improvement," said Neil Fishman, MD, president of SHEA. "National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia exemplifies this commitment and the tremendous change and progress such an effort can bring."
The Infection Prevention and Control department of the National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia (NGHA) is one of the fastest growing in the Gulf region, serving as the headquarters for infection control for the Gulf Cooperation Council States (GCC), and was designated in 2009 as the World Health Organization Collaborating Centre for Infection Control. They were among the first seven countries to sign the WHO's "Clean Care is Safer Care" pledge in 2005, and steered all seven GCC countries to be active members in this global initiative of patient safety.
"NGHA has had a tremendous impact on the entire Middle East region in terms of improving and sustaining infection control practices," said Cathryn Murphy, PhD, RN, president of APIC. "Their dedication to educating healthcare workers, influencing infection control practices, and to developing and improving the infrastructure needed to truly make an impact on reducing HAIs is outstanding."
The NGHA has invested both financial and personnel resources to the development of guidelines including an infection control manual, a surveillance manual, as well as guidelines for diagnosing and managing community-acquired pneumonia. They participated in the development of the WHO's guidelines on hand hygiene and are working with the CDC on the development of a web-based surveillance software.
In addition to assisting other GCC countries by investigating infectious disease outbreaks and analyzing data, they have made a significant contribution to educating both healthcare professionals and the public through international symposia, infection-related awareness days, lectures and the distribution of education pamphlets on diseases such as HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis and meningitis.
NGHA's infection prevention efforts have resulted in impressive reductions in HAIs including an 82% reduction in central line associated BSI rates and an 80% reduction in surgical site infection rates. They have also increased compliance rates for bundling and orchestrated an increase in hand hygiene compliance from 53% to 87% between 2008 and 2009.
"Our multidisciplinary team approach is a linchpin to the success of our infection control and prevention efforts," said Hanan Balkhy, MD, executive director of NGHA's Infection Prevention and Control Department. "The infection control and prevention department is fully integrated throughout NGHA and they are available to observe, educate and guide all of their colleagues throughout the healthcare system."
The societies received an overwhelming response to the call for this award and chose to also recognize Honorable Mention organizations including: Novant ENRI, Ohio State University Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Boston, and Northshore University.
The Partnership in Prevention Award will be presented to Dr. Balkhy by Drs. Fishman and Murphy on Thursday, March 18, 2010 at the Opening Plenary of the Fifth Decennial at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta.
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) represents more than 1,800 physicians, infection preventionists, and other healthcare professionals dedicated to maintaining the utmost quality of patient care and healthcare worker safety in all healthcare settings. The society, founded in 1980 and celebrating its 30th anniversary, continually strives toward better patient outcomes by applying epidemiologic principles and prevention strategies to healthcare-associated infections and a wide range of quality-of-care issues. SHEA achieves its mission through education, research, evidence-based guideline development, and public policy.
APIC's mission is to improve health and patient safety by reducing risks of infection and other adverse outcomes. The association's more than 12,000 members direct infection prevention programs that save lives and improve the bottom line for their hospitals and other healthcare facilities around the globe. To promote a culture within healthcare where targeting zero healthcare-associated infections is fully embraced, APIC has created the "Targeting Zero" initiative to accelerate both learning and delivery of practical tools for infection preventionists. APIC advances its mission through education, research, collaboration, practice guidance, public policy and credentialing. Visit APIC online at www.apic.org. For consumer-related information, visit www.preventinfection.org.