The ICHE Podcast

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, Dr. David Calfee speaks with three experts about measles prevention and control in healthcare settings, an increasingly important issue amid rising measles cases in the United States and around the world. They discuss two papers published in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology that examine gaps in healthcare facilities’ measles preparedness, challenges associated with responding to measles exposures, and strategies to improve prevention and response efforts.

Dr. Calfee is joined by Ebele Benjamin-Gardner, an infection preventionist in the Department of Infection Prevention and Control at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital; Dr. Irene Frantzis, an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and a hospital epidemiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital; and Dr. Loreen Herwaldt, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine.

References:

• Measles prevention and control in the acute healthcare setting—minding the gaps: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/measles-prevention-and-control-in-the-acute-healthcare-settingminding-the-gaps/EFC8DCB5F7475D814A0174A5C944E15B
• Infection prevention and control for measles in healthcare settings: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/abs/infection-prevention-and-control-for-measles-in-healthcare-settings/CFBE81D004EFF895764B7E5C658B3E59 

At the time of this recording, an ongoing outbreak of Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is raising concerns about the potential scale of transmission. The outbreak, which is among the largest recorded, underscores the importance of preparedness for Ebola virus and other viral hemorrhagic fever viruses. Transmission can occur in both community and healthcare settings when adequate infection prevention and mitigation strategies are not in place. In response, healthcare facilities around the world are assessing and strengthening their preparedness to recognize and manage patients with suspected infections.

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, host Dr. David Calfee speaks with Dr. Justin Chan, Dr. Madeline DiLorenzo, Dr. Erica Shenoy, and Dr. Sarah Turbett about their research on high-consequence infectious diseases (HCIDs) and healthcare preparedness. Dr. DiLorenzo and Dr. Chan discuss their paper, “Assessing Current Capabilities and Barriers to Performing Routine Laboratory Tests on Patients with Suspected High Consequence Infectious Disease at Frontline Acute Care Hospitals,” which examines the ability of a sample of U.S. hospitals to safely perform routine laboratory testing for patients with suspected HCIDs. Dr. Shenoy and Dr. Turbett discuss their paper, “Enabling Laboratory Readiness and Preparedness for the Evaluation of Suspected Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers: Development of a Laboratory Toolkit,” which describes the development of a toolkit designed to help hospital laboratories safely provide basic laboratory testing to support the initial care of patients with suspected viral hemorrhagic fever.

Featured ICHE papers:

• DiLorenzo MA, Lo Piccolo AJ, Bosk J, et al. Assessing current capabilities and barriers to performing routine laboratory tests on patients with suspected high consequence infectious disease at frontline acute care hospitals. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2026;47(8): 761-766. 
• Turbett SE, Lazarus JE, Nardini MA, et al. Enabling laboratory readiness and preparedness for the evaluation of suspected viral hemorrhagic fevers: development of a laboratory toolkit. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2024;45(9):1043-1049. 

Other relevant ICHE papers:

• Le AB, Figi CE, Herstein JJ, et al. Clinical laboratory equipment manufacturers’ lack of guidance for high consequence pathogen response is a critical weakness. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2024;45(8):1019-1021. 

Based on the 2019 NHSN Annual Hospital Survey, the CDC reported that 79.5% of critical access hospitals met all seven of the CDC’s Core Elements of Antimicrobial Stewardship Programs, compared to 92% of general acute care hospitals. Similarly, 82% of hospitals with 50 beds or fewer met all the core elements, as compared to 96% of those with more than 200 beds.

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, Dr. Dave Calfee speaks with three people who have been working to reduce these disparities in antimicrobial stewardship in small rural hospitals. They discuss this important issue and two papers that were published in the July 2026 issue of ICHE.

Dr. Calfee is joined by Dr. Chelsea Chambers, an inpatient clinical pharmacy specialist at the James E. Van Zant VA Medical Center in Altoona, Pennsylvania; Dr. Julia Wasser, a clinical pharmacy specialist, inpatient program manager, and Pharmacy Residency Program director at the James E. Van Zant VA Medical Center; and Dr. Robin Jump, Associate Scientific Director of the Cleveland VA Medical Education and Research Foundation and a research physician at the VA Northeast Ohio Healthcare System.

Links and Recommendations:

• Recommendations made and accepted by a telehealth-enabled Antimicrobial Stewardship program implemented at rural veterans affairs medical centers: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/recommendations-made-and-accepted-by-a-telehealthenabled-antimicrobial-stewardship-program-implemented-at-rural-veterans-affairs-medical-centers/659F70C4B84BB0EC62C6A5876A7ECE19#article 
• Staffing and workflow of an interactive telehealth Antimicrobial Stewardship program with the Veterans Health Administration: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/staffing-and-workflow-of-an-interactive-telehealth-antimicrobial-stewardship-program-with-the-veterans-health-administration/8764FF71B7A30A3702E0E01F10FFABDF
• Dissemination and Implementation of a Telehealth-Enabled Program for Providing Infectious Disease Expertise in Rural Settings: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40860515/ 

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, host Dr. David Calfee speaks with Dr. Daniel Morgan of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Dr. Jorge Salinas of Stanford University School of Medicine about the use of artificial intelligence for surgical site infection surveillance. The conversation highlights findings from their recent studies evaluating AI-assisted approaches to surgical site infection detection, including considerations related to performance, limitations, and the safe use of protected health information.

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, host Dr. Dave Calfee sits down with Kavita Bhavan, MD, Sara Keller, MD, MPH, MSHP, Deborah Lockard, BSN, MPH, and Sara Szathmary, BSN, RN, CNRI to discuss their recent publications in ICHE. The authors discuss what current evidence tells us about CLABSI incidence in outpatient infusion populations, why surveillance data remain limited, and the unique challenges healthcare organizations face when trying to monitor and prevent infections outside the acute care setting.

Featured ICHE papers 

Other relevant resources:

In this episode of THE ICHE Podcast, host Dr. David Calfee is joined by two authors from the April 2026 issue of ICHE to discuss current infection control practices and ongoing challenges in preventing multidrug-resistant organisms and Candidozyma auris in U.S. acute care hospitals.

During the conversation, Dr. KC Coffey and Dr. Sarah Sansom explain the rationale behind their studies, share key findings on current practices, and highlight the challenges hospitals face in their efforts to control transmission of these pathogens.

Articles discussed:

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, host Dr. David Calfee speaks with Jose Navarrete, MD. of Emory University School of Medicine and Marin Schweizer, PhD. of the University of Wisconsin about infection risks among patients receiving hemodialysis, including common pathogens and factors that increase vulnerability. They discuss their recent research and share key findings, along with practical insights on how to improve infection prevention in hemodialysis settings.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/trends-of-bloodstream-infection-incidence-rates-among-patients-on-outpatient-hemodialysis-national-healthcare-safety-network-20122021/3DC9CCED04161F16F274F12919DC3F7C

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/abs/survey-of-hemodialysis-patients-knowledge-of-their-infection-risk-and-acceptability-of-an-intranasal-decolonization-intervention/EA68F7DAB1D54174D633E1DE5EE38136

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, host Dr. David Calfee speaks with Bobby Warren of Duke University Medical Center and Ibrahim Ahmed El-Imam of the University of Maryland School of Medicine about their recent publications examining sink drain contamination as a reservoir for gram-negative bacteria and other healthcare-associated pathogens.

"Evaluation of hydrogen peroxide-based foam disinfection for reducing gram-negative bacterial contamination in hospital sinks": https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/evaluation-of-hydrogen-peroxidebased-foam-disinfection-for-reducing-gramnegative-bacterial-contamination-in-hospital-sinks/83B2F0FFD71D28FEE9C25311F2F6D82B 

"Efficacy of a foamed disinfectant in reducing pathogen contamination in renovated inpatient in-room sinks: a randomized controlled trial": https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/infection-control-and-hospital-epidemiology/article/efficacy-of-a-foamed-disinfectant-in-reducing-pathogen-contamination-in-renovated-inpatient-inroom-sinks-a-randomized-controlled-trial/8BF1DC52E1B37AA2D186C41EF0EAA86C 

In this episode of The ICHE Podcast, host Dr. David Calfee explores non–ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP)—what it is, how common it is, and why it matters for patient outcomes.

He is joined by Dr. Barbara Jones (University of Utah) and Dr. Sheryl Kluberg (Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute and Harvard Medical School) to discuss key risk factors for NV-HAP and how preventable it may be. The conversation highlights practical prevention strategies, including the role of routine oral care and patient mobility.

Dr. Jones shares insights from her ICHE study evaluating the impact of an oral care initiative using electronic clinical data and diagnostic coding, while Dr. Kluberg discusses her research on the associations between oral care, in-hospital mobility, and NV-HAP. Together, they break down the study questions, methods, key findings, and real-world implications for infection prevention efforts.

This episode offers a concise, evidence-based look at how everyday care practices can help reduce the burden of NV-HAP in hospitalized patients.

Links: