Upcoming COCA Call: C. diff & CRE

 

# 10, 411

 

An early head’s up for an event next week, since this is a COCA (Clinician Outreach and Communication Activity) call that many will want to schedule time to attend. It focuses on controlling the two biggest HAI (hospital acquired infection) risks facing healthcare today; CRE and C. difficile..

 

Although primarily of interest to clinicians, the CDC holds frequent COCA  calls which are designed to ensure that practitioners have up-to-date information for their practices.

 

This COCA call is obviously a follow up to last week’s Vital Signs report (A Coordinated Approach To Curb The Spread Of Antibiotic Resistance), which featured mathematical modeling that projected increases in drug-resistant infections and Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) without `immediate, nationwide improvements in infection control and antibiotic prescribing’.

The details of the event come from the CDC’s COCA website:

 

 

CRE and C. difficile : Is Your Healthcare Facility Implementing the Necessary Approach to Stop the Spread?

 

= No Continuing Education

 

Date:Thursday, August 20, 2015

Time:2:00 - 3:00 pm (Eastern Time)

Join by Phone:

• 888-469-1370 (U.S. Callers)
• 517-308-9046 (International Callers)

Passcode:3791890

Join by Webinar:

https://www.mymeetings.com/nc/join.php?i=PW5080898&p=3791890&t=c

 

Moderator:

Arjun Srinivasan, MD
Associate Director for Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Programs
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

 

Presenter(s):

Robert A. Weinstein, MD
Professor of Medicine
Chairman, Division of Infectious Diseases, Stroger Hospital of Cook County
Chief Operating Officer, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center
Co-Director, Rush Translational Sciences Consortium

Sara Cosgrove, M.D., M.S., FSHEA, FIDSA
Associate Hospital Epidemiologist
Director, Antimicrobial Stewardship Program
Associate Professor of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

 

Overview:

We're at a tipping point: an increasing number of germs no longer respond to the drugs designed to kill them. Inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics and lack of infection control actions can contribute to drug resistant infections such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and put patients at risk for deadly diarrhea (caused by Clostridium difficile). Even if one facility is following recommended infection controls, germs can be spread inside of and between healthcare facilities when patients are transferred from one healthcare facility to another without appropriate actions to stop spread. During this call, clinicians will hear from some of the nation’s top clinical experts on preventing antibiotic resistant infections and improving antibiotic stewardship. Join the discussion to learn about best practices that can be implemented today to protect patients from these potentially deadly infections.

 

Additional Resources

• CDC Vital Signs Making Health Care Safer — Stop Spread of Antibiotic Resistance
• Vital Signs: Estimated Effects of a Coordinated Approach for Action to Reduce Antibiotic-Resistant Infections in Health Care Facilities — United States. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). 64(30); 826-831
• CDC Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance — Protecting Patients and Stopping Outbreaks
• National Healthcare Safety Network
• Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs
• Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work
• CDC Get Smart for Healthcare
• CDC Healthcare-associated Infections
• CDC Safe Healthcare Blog