PHF Senior Quality Advisor John W. (Jack) Moran will be co-presenting with Richard Melchreit, Coordinator of the Healthcare-Associated Infectious Program in the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH), at the 2012 Open Forum Meeting for Quality Improvement in Public Health on December 6-7 in Charlotte, NC. Their presentation will focus on using quality improvement tools and techniques to reduce healthcare associated infections, specifically Clostridium difficile, in nursing home residents in Connecticut.  This project was one of two winners of PHF’s Future of Public Health Award to support use of quality improvement tools and techniques to address the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Winnable Battles.  Registration for this meeting is open to the public. 

The work completed at the Connecticut DPH to reduce Clostridium difficile infections is aligned with another PHF activity:  PHF is leading an effort to develop and pilot a change package for public health to reduce antibiotic resistance. This initiative compliments PHF's collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) to help hospitals reduce healthcare associated infections due to antibiotic resistance. A draft of the driver diagram to inform this change package is available for review; please contact Margie Beaudry with any comments or suggestions.