Antibiotic Stewardship / HAIs

Members of the advisory group for the Kansas Healthcare-Associated Infections & Antimicrobial Resistance ProgramMembers of the advisory group for the Kansas Healthcare-Associated Infections & Anti-microbial Resistance Program

Antimicrobial Stewardship and HAI Prevention

Antibiotics save lives, but any time antibiotics are used, they can cause side effects and lead to antibiotic resistance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 47 million antibiotic prescriptions are unnecessarily given in doctors’ offices and emergency rooms across the U.S. each year, which makes improving antibiotic prescribing and use a national priority. The CDC also reports that drug-resistant bacteria cause 23,000 deaths and 2 million illnesses each year.

KHC partners with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to advance its Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program statewide. Antimicrobial Stewardship also has been a focus in recent KHC hospital-based patient safety initiatives.

A variety of learning opportunities and resources are available in support of efforts by hospitals, clinicians, and others who are leading this important work.

Register for the 2023 KDHE KHC Antibiotic Stewardship Series

Syndromic Antimicrobial Stewardship Save the Date

Click here to Register for the Series

#UseAntibioticsWisely campaign

UseAntibioticsWisely poster Overuse and misuse of antibiotics is creating a major threat to public health: antibiotic resistance. We are all part of the problem—and the solution. Antibiotics only work on bacteria, not viruses that cause colds or flu. Taking an antibiotic when it’s not needed will not help you recover faster. However, doing so does contribute to antibiotic resistance.

KDHE and KHC have developed a statewide campaign to spread the word about what patients and providers can do to help. We invite health care providers and the public to participate within their facilities and communities.

Posters for clinics and hospitals
→ "Know the Facts" poster (11x17 .pdf)
→ "Know the Facts" Spanish poster (11x17 .pdf)
→ Kansas organizations may customize the "Know the Facts" posters with your own logo: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will send you a customized PDF for your organization to use freely.

Download social media toolkit

Social Media
→ UPDATED for COVID-19: Social media toolkit from KHC and KDHE (.zip download)
→ Social media toolkit from CDC
→ Facebook.com/KHCqi
→ Twitter.com/KHCqi
→ Tool for patients to determine if you may need antibiotics
→ "What's Got You Sick? Virus or Bacteria?" graphic from CDC

antibiotics proclamation doc

#UseantibioticsWisely Week
This week is intended to encourage partners across the state to put a special focus on Antibiotic Awareness, by spreading the messages above via social media or in your hospital or clinic setting using the posters above.

You could also download the governor's official proclamation, print it out, and take a photo of it with your staff. Doing so would be an engaging way to spread the word to your social media audiences. You may also email your photo to KHC and we'll be happy to post it on our social media.

→ Download the governor's proclamation


Additional resources
→ Antibiotic Awareness resources from the CDC

 

Kansas Pharmacist SIDP certification reimbursement program

KHC and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program are partnering to provide reimbursement assistance to pharmacists who successfully complete the Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists’ (SIDP) Antimicrobial Stewardship Certificate Program for Pharmacists. Pharmacists are eligible to request reimbursement if they are actively working with a Kansas acute care hospital and/or long-term care facility to advance its antimicrobial stewardship program and have completed their initial SIDP certificate.

Applications for reimbursement will be accepted through July 1, 2024 on a first-come basis while funding is available. More than 30 Kansas pharmacists are now actively working to earn their SIDP antimicrobial stewardship certification through the KDHE-KHC reimbursement program.   In its first year, 19 Kansas pharmacists earned a certification in antimicrobial stewardship through this program.

 

KDHE Reimbursement Program
for Infection Prevention Certification

Are you among the growing number of infection preventionists interested in taking the next step in your career by becoming certified in infection prevention and control?  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program is once again partnering with KHC to provide reimbursement assistance to candidates who successfully complete the Certification in Infection Prevention and Control, or CIC®.

 


#OneHealthKS Pledge

pledge screen KHC is part of the Kansas Quality Improvement Partnership (KQIP), a group of leading Kansas health care organizations dedicated to improving quality and eliminating or reducing duplication of effort by Kansas providers. 

Among its current priorities, KQIP has established a goal that all Kansas healthcare settings and providers, animal and human, will actively promote the appropriate use of antibiotics through their antibiotic/antimicrobial stewardship programs and activities.  

We challenge all Kansas healthcare providers to take the #OneHealthKS Pledge and commit to working on this effort within your organization. 

   → Download #OneHealthKS Pledge to Act form
   → Take the #OneHealthKS Pledge to Act on KQIP's website

Learning Event Archive

   → Antibiotic Stewardship education is updated in our Education Archive the day of each event.

Following are a few additional educational resources.

Kansas Workshop for Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs

KDHE and KHC hosted a one-day program-building workshop for Kansas hospital teams in Manhattan. Video of the sessions and handouts are available below.

Review of the CDC Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, change package and evidence-based guidelines
Presented by Steven Tremain, MD, Physician Improvement Advisor, Cynosure Health

 

"Addressing Barriers in Antibiotic Stewardship Programs," a facilitated audience discussion.
A facilitated audience discussion about the role of leadership, champions, pharmacy, data and how to implement an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program.

 

"Implementing the 7 Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship Programs"
A facilitated hospital panel discussion about how different facilities are implementing their Antibiotic Stewardship Programs, featuring HaysMed, Kansas Medical Center and Stormont Vail.


PACCARB

The Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistance Bacteria (PACCARB) meets at least two times per year in Washington, D.C.


Resources


Websites


More information

Antimicrobial Stewardship contact at KDHE

  • Bryna Stacey, Program Director, KDHE Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program
    (785) 296-4090 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Antimicrobial Stewardship contact at KHC

  • Mandy Johnson, Program Director of Quality Initiatives, Kansas Healthcare Collaborative
    (316) 681-8200 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.