FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Connecticut Department of Public Health
June 10, 2011 Contact: William Gerrish
(860) 509-7270
Hartford – The Connecticut Department of Public Health will host a Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Stakeholder Planning Conference on June 14th from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Usdan University Center at Wesleyan University in Middletown.
The day-long conference, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will engage healthcare professionals from settings across the full spectrum of the healthcare system and public health in priority setting activities to reduce the burden of HAIs within the state.
This conference is the second of three conferences used to write the Connecticut HAI Health Improvement Plan, a comprehensive blueprint for action to address HAIs. It will prepare participants for a final conference formally adopting the state plan in November 2011. The conferences will help ensure that planning incorporates the latest information about best practices for HAI tracking and prevention.
Dr. Richard Melchreit, the department’s HAI Program Coordinator, will make opening remarks and present a review of the state interim plan, developed to ensure consistency with the 2009 Department of Human Health and Services (HHS) Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare Associated Infections template. The afternoon program will include sessions on HAI issues which cut across the various sectors of the healthcare system including long-term care, homecare and hospice, hospitals, ambulatory care, dialysis, community health centers and other settings. Those encouraged to attend the conference include health providers (physicians, nurses, physician assistants and nurse practitioners), others working in healthcare, health care consumers, advocates, payors, and public health professionals.
Anyone wishing to register for the conference should visit https://ct.train.org/ or call 860-509-7995 to request a paper registration form. For more information about healthcare associated infections, visit the Healthcare Associated Infections website at www.ct.gov/dph/hai.
The Connecticut Department of Public Health is the state’s leader in public health policy and advocacy with a mission to protect and promote the health and safety of the people of our state. To contact the department, please visit its website at www.ct.gov/dph or call (860) 509-7270.
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