Antibiotics – Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention & Control, Training and Technical Assistance (ARCIPC)

Beyond the Basics – Cleaning & Disinfection to Mitigate the Spread of Infectious Diseases including MDROs for Healthcare Facilities (April 11, 2024 at 12pm CST/1PM EST)

This webinar is designed to help the infection preventionist take their cleaning and disinfection program to the next level. Efficient and effective evaluation of cleaning and disinfection of patient/resident rooms and use of supplemental disinfection strategies can mitigate the potential impact of the healthcare environment on the spreading of infectious pathogens, including MDROs. Webinar participants will learn about the pros and cons of different methods for evaluation of cleaning and disinfection practices, impact of how disinfectants are applied to surfaces, and the pros and cons of supplemental strategies for enhancing disinfection. This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and cosponsored by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).

The Deep South Center for OH&S is an approved provider of continuing education units for nurses by the AL Board of Nursing (Provider ABNP0420 Expiration Date 12/22/2025) and has awarded this program 1.2 ABN CEUs. All other professionals awarded .1 CEUs, SW awarded 1.0 CEUs.

A.C. Burke, MA, CIC

Vice President of Healthcare Quality,RB Health Partners, Inc

A.C. Burke has been working with RB Health Partners, Inc. since 2016 and has over 22 years of experience working in public health and healthcare. A.C. worked for the Florida Department of Health for 15 years; 5 of those years she served as the Healthcare-associated Infection Prevention Program Manager. She later was the Director of Infection Prevention for Mayo Clinic Florida. In her current role, she consults with long-term care facilities on infection prevention and control policies, procedures, and practices, and provides training to nursing homes and at conferences, including the 17-hour Nursing Home Infection Prevention Program (NIPP) Nipping Infections in the Bud. NIPP was created to meet the CMS infection prevention training required for a facility team member to be recognized as the designated Infection Prevention Control Official (IPCO). A.C. is nationally recognized in her field and is the primary author of this program. A.C. holds a master’s degree in health management and is nationally Board Certified in Infection Control (CIC) by the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. She is currently the chair of Florida Health Care Association’s Infection Prevention Council which was created to support Florida’s nursing homes in building and sustaining infection prevention and antibiotic stewardship programs that meet national standards. She works with clients to understand and implement national guidelines and best practices and supports program implementation by creating and delivering education materials, tools, and training.

Evaluation LInk

Understanding Multidrug-Resistant Organisms (February 7, 2024, 12pm CST)

In this webinar, Kate Draper, Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Applied Epidemiology Fellow with the Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Division at the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), will provide an overview of Multidrug-Resistant Organism (MDROs), their impact, causes, and potential solutions. Also, She will discuss MDROs and causal factors for rapid spread, describe surveillance, colonization screenings, and laboratory testing methods, review infection prevention and control strategies and highlight state, national, and international initiatives to combat MDROs. This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and cosponsored by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health, and the Alabama Statewide Area Health Education Centers (AHEC).

Kate Draper

Kate Draper is currently a Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Applied Epidemiology Fellow with the Infectious Diseases & Outbreaks Division at the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). She received a Bachelors of Science in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology in 2019 and a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology in 2022 from the University of Nevada at Reno. In her current position, she assists with outbreak activities related to foodborne diseases and healthcare acquired infections (HAI) as well as pursues projects related to health equity in HAI and shadows other ADPH departments for a holistic understanding of public health.

EVALUATION

Update on Childhood Vaccines: Getting Ready for the School Year (July 13, 2023, 12pm CST/ 1PM EST)

Vaccines are among the most significant medical advances in the history of the world. Hundreds of millions of lives have been saved or kept whole through vaccination programs. In our global world, though, all vaccine-preventable diseases except smallpox are a mere 18 hours away by plane. Diseases that were common only 30 years ago now are exceedingly rare, but without continued vigilance in the use of the vaccines that led to this success, we risk the reemergence of these pathogens. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the risks of new viruses spilling over to the human population, and as bad as that was, it would have been that much worse if safe and effective vaccines had not been developed in record time. That said, the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine program also illustrated the importance of all of us understanding why we need to be vaccinated – they only work if they are used.

Dr. David Kimberlin

Dr. David Kimberlin is the Sergio Stagno, M.D., Endowed Chair in Infectious Diseases, Professor and Co-Division Director in the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UAB, Vice Chair for Clinical and Translational Research with UAB Pediatrics, and Editor of the AAP Red Book Report of Committee on Infectious Disease. His special interests include antiviral therapies, viral diseases, clinical research and trials design.

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance and cosponsored by the Region IV Public Health Training Center and Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

*CEU Pending

Evaluation

For Some, It’s Far From Over: The Long-Term Symptoms of COVID-19 (May 3, 2023, 12pm CST/ 1PM EST)

Dr. Stella Aslibekyan, PhD

Senior Scientist, Genetic Epidemiology, 23andMe and Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham

On May 11, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services plans to officially end the COVID-19 public health emergency. Yet by some estimates, at least 10% of the acute COVID-19 cases result in symptoms persisting over months or even years — a condition often referred to as ‘long COVID’ that limits daily lives of millions of people worldwide. According to the CDC (www.cdc.gov/nchs/covid19/pulse/long-covid.htm), 16.7% of all adults in Alabama have experienced long COVID, with additional vulnerability conferred by pre-existing conditions. In this program, we will explore the history and epidemiology of ‘long COVID’ and begin to understand its etiology and manifestations. In this webinar, Dr. Stella Aslibekyan, Senior Scientist, Genetic Epidemiology, 23andMe and Adjunct Professor, Epidemiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Kentucky, will summarize the current scientific debate about long COVID, discuss lived experiences of those with long COVID and more.

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Thank you to our co-sponsor for this podcast, the Alabama Public Health Training Network at the Alabama Department of Public Health a community-based training partner of the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

*CEU credits for this program will be provided by the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety There is no fee to receive CEU credit. Additional information about applying for credit will be provided during the program.

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Candida Auris: What is it? Can we stop it? (March 10, 2023, 12pm CST/ 1PM EST)

Rachael Lee, MD, MSPH

Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases, UAB

The Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance presents Candida auris: What is it? Can we stop it? Candida auris is an emerging, serious, drug-resistant fungal infection that is spreading worldwide. In this webinar, Ms. Mary Duncan (pictured right), Senior Director of Infection Prevention at the University of Alabama-Birmingham Health System, and Dr. Rachael Lee (pictured left), Associate Professor in the UAB Division of Infectious Diseases and UAB Health Epidemiologist, will discuss how Candida auris was identified, how it is spread, and why we should be concerned. Dr. Lee and Ms. Duncan will also identify what healthcare facilities can do to identify patients who may be infected/colonized with this fungus and prevent it from spreading within their facility.

Mary Duncan, MSN, RN, CIC

Senior Director of Infection Prevention, University of Alabama-Birmingham Health System

Evaluation Link

The Changing Landscape of Antimicrobial Resistance Following the COVID-19 Pandemic (February 8, 2023, 11am CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Antimicrobial resistance is one of the largest health threats to healthcare systems and the COVID-19 pandemic has identified weaknesses that have allowed for transmission within hospitals. In this talk, Dr. Rachael Lee, assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and healthcare epidemiologist for the UAB Health System will provide a summary of the epidemiology of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in a pandemic era. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control, Region IV Public Health Training Center, and Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety.

tRAINING eVALUATION

Using Behavioral Theory to Understand the Red/Blue Divide in COVID-19 Vaccination Intentions (January 23, 2023 1pm CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Political partisanship is an important predictor of COVID-19 vaccination status. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Republicans were less likely to report being vaccinated than Democrats. This webinar will discuss the results from research testing the hypothesis that partisan differences in intention to receive a COVID-19 vaccine can be explained by a commonly used theory of behavioral health intentions, Protection Motivation Theory. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

Greg Pavela, PhD
Associate Professor @UAB School of Public Health

Tamika Smith, PhD
Assistant Professor @UAB School of Public Health

Victoria McDonald, MPH
Third-year doctoral student in Health Behavior @UAB School of Public Health

Webinar Evaluation

Public Perceptions and Preferences for Antibiotics: Considerations for Health Communication (December 14, 2022 12pm CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. In this webinar, Dr. Alistair Thorpe will discuss health communication efforts to reduce antibiotic overuse and scope for improving their impact through research on public perceptions and preferences about antibiotics. This webinar is co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control, the Deep South Center for Occupational Health and Safety, and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

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Protect and Preserve: Priorities of Antimicrobial Stewardship (November 1, 2022 12pm CST)

This webinar is presented by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control Training and Technical Assistance. Antimicrobials are essential for modern medicine; however, they become less effective over time. In addition, adverse effects and other negative consequences of antimicrobial use are not uncommon. This presentation, Dr. Matthew Brown will provide an overview of antimicrobial stewardship and how it can help protect patients and preserve the utility of these important medications. This webinar was co-sponsored by the Alabama Regional Center for Infection Prevention and Control, Deep South Center for Occupational Health & Safety, and the Region IV Public Health Training Center.

Dr. Matthew Brown, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCIDP is the supervising pharmacist for antimicrobial stewardship and the director of the PGY2 infectious diseases pharmacy residency program at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL.

Evaluation