Newsletter Wellness : Health-Care "Nourish n Flourish" : May 2023

Saturday

Access On-Demand Recording of CDC Project Firstline’s Town Hall

On behalf of CDC’s Project Firstline, thank you to all who attended our recent town hall on the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency, and what that means for infection prevention and control in healthcare facilities.

During this town hall, CDC officials reviewed the updated COVID-19 recommendations for healthcare facilities and the infection control actions that continue to be effective at stopping the spread of respiratory viruses in health care. CDC was also joined by a panel of healthcare professionals from a variety of settings that shared their plans for implementing the updated recommendations in their facilities, as well as answered questions from attendees.

If you missed the event or would like to rewatch it, you can access the on-demand recording here. While there were some technical difficulties with slides during the live event, they have been corrected within the recording.

We encourage you to share with your colleagues and networks, as well as explore Project Firstline’s accessible and digestible resources to continue educating and training yourself and your staff on healthcare infection control.

	Missed Project Firstline’s virtual town hall? Watch the on-demand recording to hear about updates to the infection control recommendations for healthcare facilities following the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency: https://bit.ly/PFLCDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd Atlanta, GA 30329 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: 888-232-6348 Questions or Problems \| Unsubscribe

Thursday

Antibiotic Stewardship Intervention Proven Effective in Urgent Care Clinics

Improving Antibiotic Use in Urgent Care is Possible through Multifaceted Interventions, study shows

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network Open, Implementation of an Antibiotic Stewardship Initiative in a Large Urgent Care Network, shows how a multifaceted approach can safely reduce inappropriate antibiotic prescribing in a large urgent care network. Researchers were able to reduce prescribing rates at urgent care clinics by 15%—which would equate to millions of doses of antibiotics nationally—by using antibiotic stewardship initiatives specifically designed for these outpatient settings.

Key findings

The CDC-funded study authored by experts from Intermountain Healthcare, CDC, and the University of Utah shows improvements in appropriate antibiotic prescribing occurred with minimal changes to patient satisfaction and rates of hospitalization. In addition, the intervention appeared to have lasting effects of improved antibiotic prescribing for up to one year after the end of the intervention period.

Findings showed a reduction in antibiotic prescribing for respiratory conditions from a baseline of 47.8% to 33.3% during the intervention period. Among conditions for which antibiotics are not recommended, such as acute bronchitis or the common cold, antibiotic prescribing decreased from a baseline of 18.7% to 7.5% during the intervention period.

About the intervention

The intervention involved educational efforts for clinicians and patients, electronic health record-based clinical decision support systems to promote best practices, tracking and reporting of antibiotic prescribing using an electronic dashboard, and media activities promoting appropriate antibiotic use.

What’s new

This study is unique:

It uses a new composite measure for antibiotic prescribing created by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (Healthcare Effectiveness Data Infomation Set [HEDIS®] measure, Antibiotic Utilization for Acute Respiratory Conditions [AXR]).
Few studies monitor changes in patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes throughout an antibiotic stewardship intervention.
Few studies assess whether improvements in antibiotic prescribing from multifaceted antibiotic stewardship interventions last after the intervention period ends.

Improvements in antibiotic prescribing in urgent care settings can improve patient safety and help combat antimicrobial resistance.

To learn more about improving antibiotic prescribing and use, visit www.cdc.gov/antibiotic-use.

	@Intermountain, @CDCgov, and @UUtah authored a new study in @JAMANetwork showing a multifaceted #antibiotic stewardship intervention was effective at reducing antibiotic prescribing in urgent care clinics. Read more: https://bit.ly/3pJ4PU9

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd Atlanta, GA 30329 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: 888-232-6348 Questions or Problems \| Unsubscribe

Friday

Register for IPC Town Hall with CDC’s Project Firstline

The federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 ends today, May 11, 2023, prompting changes to data reporting and surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. As a result, the CDC has updated select infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare facilities, which were informed by these data.

In this town hall, hosted by CDC’s Project Firstline, CDC officials will review the updates to these recommendations and the infection control actions that continue to be effective at stopping the spread of respiratory viruses in health care. This town hall will also feature a panel of healthcare professionals that will discuss how they will operationalize these updated recommendations in their diverse facilities.

To register, use the "Add to Calendar" button on the event page: https://bit.ly/PFLCDC

CDC remains dedicated to preventing severe illness and death from COVID-19, particularly for populations at higher risk and will continue working to reduce the negative impact of COVID-19 after the PHE has ended. Please join us for this important discussion, so we can continue to work together to stop the spread of infections in health care.

	Join Project Firstline for a virtual town hall discussion on updates to the infection prevention and control recommendations for healthcare facilities following the end of the Public Health Emergency for COVID-19. Register https://bit.ly/PFLCDC

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd Atlanta, GA 30329 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: 888-232-6348 Questions or Problems \| Unsubscribe

Wednesday

New Blog Post - Eight Ways Health Department Leaders Can Support HAI/AR Programs

Eight Ways Health Department Leaders Can Support Effective HAI/AR Programs to Advance Prevention Efforts in their Community

State and territorial health agency (S/THA) Healthcare-Associated Infection and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR) programs play a critical role in spearheading prevention, detection, and outbreak response in their communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, HAI/AR programs led and supported healthcare infection prevention and control activities to help keep the public safe.

To further explore what this collaboration and support can look like, ASTHO recently hosted a 2-part interview series.

HAI/AR Program Director Bryna Stacey and Kansas Health Officer, Dr. Joan Duwve	Louisiana HAI Program Coordinator, Erica Washington and Louisiana State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter

Also check out the ASTHO Public Health Review Morning Edition newscast featuring CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion Deputy Associate Director of State Strategy, Elizabeth Mothershed.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1600 Clifton Rd Atlanta, GA 30329 1-800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) TTY: 888-232-6348 Questions or Problems \| Unsubscribe

Monday

May is Arthritis Awareness Month; New Feature for Arthritis Awareness Month; New Healthy Living with Arthritis Episode; Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults; OA Action Alliance Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs; 6th Annual Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day Symposium; Walk with Ease, Jackson, TN

	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC 24/7: Saving Lives, Protecting People May 8, 2023

May Arthritis Newsletter	cdc.gov/arthritis

NEW Arthritis Awareness Month Feature

May is Arthritis Awareness Month. The "Healthy Living with Arthritis" web feature discusses a new podcast series to educate health care professionals and the public about low-cost, community-based arthritis intervention programs. Nearly 59 million people are diagnosed with arthritis, making it a leading cause of disability in the United States. Educating patients and connecting them to evidence-based interventions are important ways to help them manage symptoms.

Read Here

NEW Healthy Living With Arthritis Podcast Episode

The latest episode of Healthy Living with Arthritis is now out! This episode, “Chronic Pain Self-Management Program,” focuses on the CDC-recognized arthritis-appropriate, evidence-based intervention by the same name. CDC arthritis subject matter expert Anika Foster, DrPH, MPH, discusses the program in depth and shares resources for finding remote or in-person options near you.

Listen Now

Subscribe Here

NEW Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults, by Detailed Race and Ethnicity

The Division of Health Interview Statistics of the National Center for Health Statistics is pleased to announce the Internet release of Interactive Summary Health Statistics for Adults, by Detailed Race and Ethnicity. This new data query tool provides estimates as 3-year averages of selected health topics for adults, including doctor-diagnosed arthritis, diabetes, and disability status, based on the 2019–2021 final data from the National Health Interview Survey.

Learn More

Osteoarthritis (OA) Action Alliance Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs

The OA Action Alliance supports people living with arthritis by offering lifestyle management programs that help them take control of their symptoms. These programs also help people connect with others who live with arthritis and other chronic diseases. Group and in-person options are available for physical activity and chronic disease self-management education programs. Visit the OA Action Alliance to learn more.