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Antimicrobial Stewardship
St. Charles Hospital’s Antimicrobial Stewardship team: (from left to right) Phillip Nizza, DO; Ruxandra Necula, PharmD; Nardeen Mickail, MD and David Galinkin, DO.

 

PORT JEFFERSON, NY – St. Charles Hospital has been awarded the designation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence (CoE) by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The hospital is one of 131 programs worldwide to have received this designation since the program’s launch in 2017.

The IDSA-designated hospitals have created stewardship programs led by infectious diseases-trained physicians and pharmacists that advance science in antimicrobial resistance. They also have achieved standards aligned with evidence-based national guidelines, such as the IDSA-Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) joint guidelines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Core Elements.

“We are honored to have received this prestigious recognition from the IDSA,” said St. Charles President James O’Connor. “As one of New York’s premier health care facilities, St. Charles Hospital this year earned its 10th “A” rating for Hospital Safety from The Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that ranks the safest hospitals in the nation. The IDSA recognition further illustrates our commitment in providing the highest quality of care to our patients.”

The core criteria for the CoE program place emphasis on an institution’s ability to implement stewardship protocols by integrating best practices to slow the emergence of resistance, optimize the treatment of infections, reduce adverse events associated with antibiotic use and to address other challenging areas related to antimicrobial stewardship. A panel of IDSA member experts in antimicrobial stewardship, including ID-trained physicians and ID-trained pharmacists, evaluate CoE applications against high-level criteria established by IDSA leadership for determining merit.

According to St. Charles Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist, Ruxandra Necula-Lee, PharmD., the goal of the hospital’s antimicrobial stewardship program is to ensure that the correct antibiotic is used, along with the proper dosage and duration. This helps to minimize adverse effects to the patient and development of resistance to the antimicrobials.

“St. Charles is committed to fighting antimicrobial resistance through comprehensive training and education, as well as a multidisciplinary approach to improve patient care outcomes, lessen the risk of adverse effects, and promote cost effectiveness,” said St. Charles Chief Medical Officer Sunil Dhuper, MD. “We are proud of our team comprised of infectious disease physicians, clinical pharmacists, clinical microbiologists, infection control practitioners, hospitalists, as well as physician, nursing and senior executive leadership. The antimicrobial stewardship program will optimize drug choice, dosage, duration, while minimizing resistance development and toxicity.”

To learn more about the IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence program, visit www.idsociety.org/clinical-practice/antimicrobial-stewardship/.

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