The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) has been named a liaison organization for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC).
HICPACH provides advice and guidance on the practice of infection control and strategies for surveillance, prevention, and control of healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial assistance, and related events in settings where healthcare is provided to a variety of government entities, including:
- The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services
- The director of the CDC
- The deputy director for infectious diseases of the CDC
- The director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases of the CDC
- The director of the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion of the CDC
OSAP vice chair Eve Cuny, MS, will serve as OSAP’s liaison representative, providing scientific and programmatic expertise and representing OSAP’s viewpoint during HICPAC’s activities. These activities include:
- Providing advice and guidance on the development and evaluation of healthcare infection prevention and control guidelines and guidance
- The development of policy statements regarding the prevention and surveillance of healthcare-associated infections and healthcare-related conditions
- New and updated surveillance methodologies related to healthcare-associated infections
Cuny currently serves as executive associate dean and associate professor of diagnostic sciences for the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.
“We are pleased that OSAP was approved as a liaison organization and added to the HICPAC charter,” said Michelle Lee, OSAP’s executive director.
“OSAP is the first oral health organization to be included in this prestigious and influential federal advisory committee. Ms. Cuny, a leading expert in dental infection prevention and safety, is an excellent representative for both the association and the profession,” Lee said.
“I am very excited at the opportunity to bring the contributions of OSAP and dental infection prevention to this advisory committee as the liaison organization representative,” said Cuny.
HICPAC meetings are open to the public and occur up to eight times a year.
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