Throughout the Americas, controlling infections in health settings, such as hospitals and clinics, has become a major issue. When patients acquire infections in clinical settings, the threat to their health is often grave. Uncontrolled infections pose serious risks to staff as well.

Educating staff and creating infection control action plans are effective means to maintain a healthy clinical setting.

PAHEF’s infection control projects include:

ARGENTINA

Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Adventista del Plata, Libertador San Martín: To develop manuals on infection control and an infection control curriculum for medical and nursing students. Also, to integrate the work of the regional microbiology laboratory with infection control and antibiotic use among public and private hospitals in Libertador San Martín province, Diamante, Ramirez, and Crespo in Entre Ríos province. ($15,000)

BOLIVIA

National Health Laboratory Institute (INLASA), La Paz: To develop an integrated infection control and antibiotic utilization program in seven hospitals in the cities of La Paz and El Alto. ($45,895)

Elizabeth Seton School of Nursing at the Catholic University, Cochabamba: To create a module for teaching nursing students about infections and how to control them as well as to integrate the module into the university’s curriculum. ($16,700)

National Institute of Health Laboratories, La Paz (The Taibol Project): To provide a framework for the creation of a national coordinated network of infection control and microbiology laboratory units for the Republic of Bolivia. This grant was made from the Fund from the People of Taiwan. ($88,209)

Albina R. Patiño Pediatrics Center and School of Medicine, University del Valle, Cochabamba: To create an integrated course that teaches appropriate antimicrobial use with an emphasis on strategies to achieve optimum clinical efficacy in the treatment of common infections while reducing adverse events, antimicrobial resistance, and cost. ($31,100)