HMH Represented at IHI Scientific Symposium

What you need to know

Doreen McSharry, RDH, MA, CIC, CHSP, recently represented Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) at the Institute for Health Improvement (IHI) Scientific Symposium.

The event featured a poster presentation from Doreen McSharry, director of Safety and Infection Control, that showed a study of HMH’s Quality Improvement Project aimed at preventing Clostridioides difficile Infection (CDI).

About the Study

The study was IRB approved by Hackensack University Medical Center and included the abstract titled “Innovative Practice Strategies for Preventing Clostridioides difficile Infection (CDI) in a Community-Based Hospital”.

The objectives of the study were:

• To provide a comprehensive case review of CDI cases that occurred over 18 months focusing on identifying risk factors for HAI-CDI and developing prevention strategies.
• To reduce HAI-CDI infections by empowering a multidisciplinary CDI Prevention Team to develop and implement an innovative CDI Prevention Bundle based on case review data.
• To study the effectiveness of the Innovative Practice Strategy and CDI Prevention Bundle on improved patient outcomes.

Meet the Authors

The abstract was written by:

• Doreen McSharry, RDH, MA, CIC, CHSP, Safety/Infection Prevention
• Jeffrey M. Raskin, M.D., Gastroenterologist/CDI Physician Champion
• Aaron A. Stein, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Palisades Medical Center
• Rose T. Lee, Pharm.D, Antibiotic Stewardship Pharmacist
• Gastroenterology Fellows - Vinay Yalamanchi, D.O., Frank Lopez, D.O., and Joel Chandy, D.O.