CAC partners with Department of Health
The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging and Community has partnered with the Indiana State Department of Health to launch a series of health care-associated infection prevention sessions around the state this month.
According to the UIndy Web site, the CAC is one of Indiana’s leading centers for aging studies, using an interdisciplinary approach to develop partnerships between higher education, business organizations and the community. The center also offers education in aging studies.
According to Ellen Miller, professor of physical therapy and executive director of CAC, the center’s mission is to partner with governmental entities and aging initiatives on projects that better the quality of life for older adults.
“This particular project fits really well with the focus of our center,” Miller said.
UIndy is one of many partners in the Indiana State Department of Health’s associated infection initiative. The full initiative involves 185 health care facilities across Indiana. The name of this partnership is the Indiana Healthcare Associated Infection Initiative. UIndy’s CAC coordinates activities, including these sessions, with the health department. In addition to the Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention sessions UIndy is holding around the state, UIndy also is working to develop online learning modules with several collaborative partners. Some online features include chat discussions and downloadable educational material.
“We evaluate performance on the front, and we evaluate performance on the back end so we know if the activities are successful,” Miller said.
As executive director for CAC, Miller oversees and manages activities, coordinates with the state health department and pulls together people who take initiative with the project.
“The Indiana State Department of Health has made [infection prevention] a key issue and is inviting everyone to participate,” said Kristin Huff, senior project director for CAC.
The Indiana State Department of Health put out a request for proposals and Miller applied. The state health department ranked all applicants to see who they believed would fit the project best, and UIndy was chosen. UIndy’s CAC will assist in hosting and coordinating a series of Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention sessions around the state, which are designed to help health care workers reduce the rate of infection among their patients.
The current infection prevention initiative is a two-year project, which started in January 2010 and is scheduled to end in December 2011.
“The Indiana State Department of Health developed the plan to focus on health care-associated infections,” Huff said.
Health care-associated infections are defined as infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving treatment for other conditions within a health care setting.
According to Huff, the state health department also specifically approached UIndy because a Pressure Ulcer Quality Improvement Initiative project implemented two years ago was successful. As senior project director, Huff manages the health care infection initiative, ensures collaboration runs smoothly, collects data and composes recommendations for those teaching the sessions. A few of the speakers at the sessions UIndy is launching include Dr. Stephen Brecher, chief of microbiology at the Boston Veterans Affairs Hospital, and Linda Green, director of infection prevention at Rochester General Health System.
According to the Web site, the Center for Disease Control deems improving healthcare quality a “winnable battle” and has decided to increase its focus on healthcare quality. The state department then uses funds on initiatives to improve health care quality.
The Indiana State Department of Health will analyze UIndy’s progress involving this infection initiative to see whether UIndy can serve as a partner for future initiatives.
“This is an incredibly important initiative,” Huff said. “A lot of people at risk for infections are our aging population.”
