Decolonization to Prevent Serious Infections and Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens: Extending the Benefit to Long-Term Care (CE Session)
Description:
Date/Time: April 11, 2024 | 2:10 - 2:35 pm ET
Due to a variety of factors such as age, multiple co-morbidities, medical devices, and wounds, the over 1 million residents living in the nation’s long-term care facility are at high risk for healthcare-associated infections. Some pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), can live on a person’s skin and in their nose without them knowing and without making them sick. Proactively taking steps to decolonize can reduce the risks and spread of infections and AMR. This session will evaluate the evidence and rationale for decolonization in both hospitals and nursing homes, and will also review available resources and discuss the importance of education and training.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, the learner should be able to:
- Discuss the evidence and rationale for decolonization as a strategy to reduce healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic resistant pathogens in hospitals;
- Summarize the latest evidence for decolonization to reduce infections and antibiotic resistant pathogens in nursing homes;
- Describe the importance of training and the types of resources available for educational materials for decolonization.
Target Audience:
Nurses, advanced practice providers, physicians, emergency responders, pharmacists, medical technologists, respiratory therapists, physical/occupational therapists, infection prevention specialists, data/quality specialists, and more.
Susan Huang, MD MPH
Chancellor’s Professor
University of California Irvine School of Medicine
Susan Huang, MD, MPH, is Chancellor’s Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine, and Medical Director of Epidemiology and Infection Prevention at UCI Health. Dr. Huang studies healthcare-associated infections with a focus on multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), including preventative strategies for containment. She has led multiple large randomized clinical trials involving decolonization across the continuum of care. Dr. Huang has over 200 publications and has served as a past member of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), the CDC Antibiotic Resistance Working Group, and the IDSA Antibiotic Resistance Committee. She is a current voting member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (PACCARB).