CMS requires that all certified nursing homes have antibiotic stewardship programs to help reduce inappropriate antibiotic use that can potentially harm residents.
Together, North Carolina Clinical Antibiotic Stewardship Partners will:
- Provide a judgment-free forum for learning about the optimal use of antibiotics and why antibiotic stewardship is essential to quality care
- Help infection preventionists, care providers, and facility administrators identify priorities for improving the appropriateness of antibiotic use and respond to regulatory and licensing requirements
- Support facilities that are ready to strengthen antibiotic stewardship with targeted coaching and feedback
Learning Objectives
Participants meet twice each month for an hour to achieve the following objectives:
- Discuss CDC Core Elements of Antibiotic Stewardship for Nursing Homes
- Assess the current level of antibiotic stewardship preparedness and antibiotic stewardship activities in long-term care settings
- Discussion of performance improvement philosophies and tools.
- Be familiar with data from multi-drug-resistant organism outbreaks occurring in long-term care facilities and reported to NC Department of Public Health
- Share and discuss case presentations
Participants working in long-term care facilities also have the option to join biweekly “hot topics” sessions focused on quality improvement and collaboration on common challenges.
Interested in joining NC CLASP? View upcoming sessions and register.
Team Lead
Christine E. Kistler, MD, MASc is an Associate Professor in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Pittsburgh. She also has an adjunct appointment in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is board-certified in Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. She has additional quality improvement training through the Veterans’ Affairs Quality Scholars program. She has worked in nursing homes, assisted living communities, and patients’ homes for over a decade. She is currently the medical director for the Tele-MOD program at the Pittsburgh Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center which provides after-hours, weekend, and holiday coverage for local VA nursing homes. She has helped conduct several studies to improve infection control in long-term care, including an R01 to examine nursing and physician prescribing for suspected urinary tract infections in nursing home residents.
Antibiotic Stewardship Resources
Session materials and educational resources from NC CLASP’s first year are available on our Nursing Home Resources page.