#30 One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) During the COVID-19 pandemic

It’s 2019. Facilities are seeing an encouraging decrease in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) on a state and national level. Fast forward a few months and a global pandemic has taken the world by storm, putting a lot of the progress made by infection preventionists (IPs) in jeopardy. How exactly did this major global event affect HAIs in facilities and what does its impact mean for the future? Our guest Lisa Sturm, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, walks us through these timely questions and more, including staffing and reporting gaps as well as the changing role of the IP. Hosted by: Silvia Quevedo, CAE About our Guest: Lisa Sturm, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, Sr. Director, Infection Prevention, Quality, Clinical & Network Services, Ascension Lisa has been in the field of Infection Prevention for almost 30 years, is certified in Infection Prevention, and is a Fellow of APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control). She is active at the local and national levels with APIC. She joined her local chapter, then called APIC-Greater Detroit, in 1992 when she was a graduate student. She knew then she wanted to be an “IP” when she grew up. She is currently the Chair of APIC’s Public Policy Committee and Legislative Co-Chair for the APIC Great Lakes Chapter. She is widely published in numerous peer-reviewed journals, is the author of infection prevention chapters in books, and has presented internationally on infection prevention. Her latest research is centered around the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs). She's recently been published in Infection Control & Epidemiology (ICHE) as well as the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC). Lisa currently works as the Senior Director of Infection Prevention at Ascension, a nonprofit faith-based health system that operates in 21 states with over 140 hospitals. There are approximately 165 IPs at Ascension that form a very tight-knit group called the IP Community. Lisa is proud to represent such an amazing group of professionals, who she feels have contributed significantly to the ongoing challenges of the pandemic.