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Infection Prevention and Control is at a Crossroads of Complex Challenges Ahead
By Kelly M . Pyrek
As the Association for Professionals in
Infection Control and Epidemiology ( APIC ) celebrates a half century of protecting patients and healthcare personnel through the efforts of infection prevention and control ( IP & C ) and risk management , we examine the journey of the field and the profession as it evolves and impacts the entirety of the healthcare landscape .
In 1970 , the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) established the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance ( NNIS ) System , now known as the National Healthcare Safety Network ( NHSN ), which is used to report and track healthcare-acquired infections ( HAIs ). It created the bedrock upon which modern
public health efforts were built . With epidemiological structures beginning to take shape , nurse epidemiologists and infection control nurses began to outline the beginnings of what would eventually become the infection preventionist ( IP ) profession in the early 1970s . APIC was founded in 1972 by a small group , led by pioneers such as Carol DeMille , Pat Lynch , Kay Wenzel , and other visionaries .
“ The thing I ’ m most proud of is the persistence and the determination of not only the individuals who are members of APIC , but anyone in the profession of infection prevention and control ,” says current APIC president Linda Dickey , RN , MPH , CIC , FAPIC , interim senior director for quality , patient safety and infection prevention at UCI Health in Orange County , Calif ., who adds , “ Especially in talking with the earlier founders of APIC and then also having some perspective of putting them in practice for almost 50 years . It ’ s taken a lot to continue to push forward with reducing infection risks . I marveled when I learned more about the beginnings of APIC and how there was no infrastructure , there were no data definitions , there were no avenues for sharing
The thing I ’ m most proud of is the persistence and the determination of not only the individuals who are members of APIC , but anyone in the profession of infection prevention and control .” — Linda Dickey , RN , MPH , CIC , FAPIC information — there was nothing excerpt the desire to make this a better planet by reducing the risk of infection . People who cared about doing that figured out how to stay in touch with each other , how to build a profession . I think our persistence has been key , but it hasn ’ t been without big challenges because there are so many competing interests in healthcare . That has made it an uphill climb to move forward on reducing infection .”
Dickey points to the fact that APIC didn ’ t start as an IP-exclusive organization . “ One thing that was surprising to me when we were talking with some of the original founders and also looking at the original first newsletter for APIC , was that it wasn ’ t intended to solely be an association for professionals in infection control ; it wasn ’ t specifically for what we now call infection prevention , in that it was more physicians , nurses and housekeepers , and anybody who was a professional and saw it within their scope of practice to reduce the risk of infection . I love that , because we have seen the emergence of a profession that is specifically aimed solely at preventing infections but the whole idea of also having a professional association where you could collaborate with other people who have that as part of what ’ s in their sphere of influence is lovely .”
A former APIC president , Connie Steed , MSN , RN , CIC , FAPIC , is a veteran IP recently retired from a large healthcare enterprise who has worked in the field since 1978 and recalls the evolution of the profession . “ Back in those golden days we were called infection control nurses ; now the focus is on prevention and control and with that has come positive change as we address healthcare-associated infections , including emerging pathogens .”
She credits APIC with giving her career a sense of direction . “ As an IP , I don ’ t know how I would have been able to proceed