The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) announced the official launch of the Healthcare Infection Prevention Advisory Group (HIPAG), a new national expert advisory initiative established to help ensure continuity, coordination, and leadership in infection prevention and control (IPC) expert input and collaboration across the healthcare continuum.
HIPAG was formed to help identify and address gaps in infection prevention and control expertise, and to support the implementation of clinical standards wherever healthcare is delivered. HIPAG will serve as a national resource for expertise in infection prevention and the spread of antimicrobial resistance in healthcare, helping to review and contextualize evolving evidence, identify areas requiring clarification, and support rapid-response approaches during emerging infectious disease threats and infection-related public health challenges. The group will also support alignment around evidence-based practices that enhance patient and healthcare personnel safety in acute care, ambulatory, and long-term care settings.
HIPAG representatives are:
Rebecca Alvino: System Director, Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention, UC Davis Health
Tania Bubb (APIC Chair): Senior Director, Infection Prevention & Control, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Rashida Conway: Director Infection Prevention and Control, Kaiser Permanente
Brooke Decker, MD: VA Deputy Chief of Staff/VISN4 Hospital Epidemiologist, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Erin Epson, MD: Medical Director & Chief, Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, California Department of Public Health
Jennifer Hanrahan, DO, MSc: Chair, Department of Medicine, Marshall University
Claire Jai: Assistant Vice President Infection Prevention, Methodist Healthcare System & HCA Healthcare
Lela Luper: Manager – Infection Prevention and Control, Chickasaw Nation Department of Health
Tara Millson: Regional Director of Infection Prevention, Medstar Health,
Russ Olmstead: Director, Infection Prevention & Control, Trinity Health
Cindy Prins (Vice-Chair): Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Central Florida
Amy Spallone, MD: Chief Infection Control Officer, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Mike Sebert, MD: Medical Director, Infection Prevention, Children’s Medical Center Dallas UT Southwestern Medical Center
Mike Stevens, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, FSHEA: System Chief Quality Officer/ Professor of Internal Medicine/ Infectious Diseases, West Virginia University Health System/ School of Medicine
Gabriela Andujar Vazquez, MD: Infectious Diseases Physician & Medical Director Infection Prevention, Dartmouth Health
Sharon Wright, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA (SHEA Chair): Chief Infection Prevention Officer, Beth Israel Lahey Health
“HIPAG brings together nationally recognized experts with deep experience across infection prevention, healthcare epidemiology, antimicrobial stewardship, public health, and frontline healthcare operations,” said APIC president Kathy Ward, RN, BSN, MPH, FAPIC, CIC. “APIC is proud to help convene a multidisciplinary group of leaders whose expertise reflects the complexity of today’s healthcare environment and the urgent need for practical, evidence-based infection prevention guidance.”
“The selection of HIPAG members reflects a deliberate effort to ensure broad scientific expertise, frontline experience, and diverse perspectives from across the healthcare continuum,” said Lisa Maragakis, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA, President of SHEA. “SHEA is excited to partner with APIC in building a trusted expert advisory group that can provide timely expert input on emerging infectious threats and public health challenges and support alignment around evidence-informed practices that protect patients and healthcare personnel nationwide.”
SHEA says additional information about HIPAG will be announced in the coming months.
Source: SHEA