Announcements

CDIFFerently: A Bundled Approach to Sustained C. diff Infection Prevention

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This comprehensive Clostridium difficile infection reduction strategy focuses on diagnostic stewardship, environmental contamination, transmission prevention and education. The individual CDIFFerently elements were tied together with a marketing campaign to pique interest and sustain engagement. Innovative strategies included a CDIFFerently mascot, t-shirts for staff, screensavers on all facility computers and prizes to encourage competition in achieving goals. Successful results include:

• The healthcare facility-onset incidence rate of Clostridium difficile was reduced by 48%.
• The facility achieved greater than 80% compliance with the testing algorithm.
• Utilization of an ultraviolet light disinfection system was expanded to include 98% of Clostridium difficile discharge rooms and 13% of total discharge rooms.

Erin Wilbur from Auburn Hospital has passed her Certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology! Congratulation Erin, on behalf of APIC HONY Chapter 118!!!

​Congratulations Dayle Bower on receiving your Certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology (CIC)!

​Congratulations Christine English on passing your Certification in Ambulatory Infection Prevention (CAIC)!

​Please take a moment to congratulate Heather Bernard, DNP, RN, CIC, FAPIC, on being selected for the 2019 APIC Chapter Leader Award!

​Congratulations to Cristina Pedulla from MVHS for successfully passing the Certification in Infection Control and Epidemiology Exam! Your hard work and excellence has paid off! Congrats on this monumental achievement!

​Job Posting Below

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Job Title:	Hospital-Acquired Infection (HAI) Reporting Specialist
Job Number:
Organization:	New York County Health Services Review Organization
Posted:	2/8/2019
Type:	Full-Time
Classification:	Epidemiology
Industry:	Non Profit / NGO
Number of Openings:	1
Location:	Syracuse,  NY
Compensation:
Position Description:	Provide educational opportunities to healthcare facilities in an assigned region that enhance understanding of HAI reporting requirements including: National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions and surveillance methods, data entry, data analysis, and publically reported infection rates; Monitor the timeliness and completeness of healthcare facility reporting; Conduct healthcare facility audits (chart reviews) to evaluate the accuracy of reporting and provide recommendations to improve the accuracy of data reported as needed. Monitor trends in HAI rates at healthcare facilities and assist facilities with reducing repeatedly high or unusually low rates and serve as a resource to facilities on best practices for quality improvement and patient safety. Collaborate and support clinical and epidemiologic surveillance projects, studies, and investigations; Establish partnerships with local/regional APIC chapters and hospital associations; Monitor the implementation and evaluate effectiveness of recommendations; Analyze data and write reports; Attend NYS DOH meetings and conference calls; Coordinate and support planning activities related to emerging infectious diseases (e.g. Ebola virus disease, enterovirus D68, MERS, legionella and Zika virus); Develop guidelines, educational tools, evaluation tools, etc. Provide training and education using various modalities (presentations, webinars, lectures, etc.)
Qualifications:	Two years of hands-on infection control experience, familiarity with NHSN, APIC member, CIC; OR A current NYS licensed and registered nurse with Certification in Infection Control (CIC) and a minimum of two (2) years CIC experience; OR a current NYS licensed and registered nurse with a minimum of three (3) years of infection control or communicable disease experience.
Organization Description:	NYCHSRO was founded as a 501 (c) (3) not- for-profit corporation in 1974. In 2018, NYCHSRO is observing its 44th year of continuous active service in medical review in New York State. NYCHSRO’s mission is to provide health care assessment services that assist clients in improving the appropriateness, quality, and cost-effectiveness of health care. NYCHSRO has worked with the NYS DOH for more than 15 years.
Closing Date:	4/30/2019
Desired Starting Date:	3/1/2019

​To Karen Aubertine, RN, CIC from Lewis County General for successfully passing the Certification Exam for Infection Control and Epidemiology!!  A challenging, but rewarding accomplishment!!
Congratulations Karen!!!

Samantha Austin BSN, RN, CIC, chapter secretary and infection preventionist at MVHS, has had an abstract accepted for poster display at the national conference for the Association for Vascular Access (AVA)!  Samantha's abstract is titled Combating CLABSI: The Road to Zero, and will be on display during the conference in Columbus, OH, September 15-18, 2018.
Congratulations Samantha!​​

​Please congratulate Heather Bernard for having her paper "Creation of a Competency- Based Professional Development Program for Infection Preventionists Guided by the APIC Competency Steps in the Process" published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

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See full article here

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See full article here​

APIC Chapter 118 was selected for the 2018 APIC Chapter Excellence Award for Education, Communications and ​Information Resources.