Institutions
Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève – (HUG - UniGE)
The University of Geneva (UniGe) a 2,200-bed tertiary care centre hosts a state-of-the-art infection control programme with several experts (Drs Pittet, Harbarth, Sax and Zingg) who have generated ground-breaking articles in the field of infection control, infection control practices, control of antimicrobial resistance and hand hygiene in particular. Furthermore, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève - HUG is the WHO coordination centre for patient safety, the coordination centre for the Swiss national prevalence studies and the coordination centre for the Swiss national hand hygiene campaigns. The team of Didier Pittet with 17 physicians and epidemiologists and 14 IC nurses will guarantee that this study will be successfully coordinated and supervised. The investigators are already co-ordinating or participating in several international EC-funded projects (MOSAR, CHAMP, MagRSA).
National Institute for Public Health and the Environment - RIVM
RIVM in the Netherlands performs tasks to promote both public health, and a healthy and safe living environment. The main tasks of RIVM are: 1) to conduct research; 2) to provide policy support; 3) to perform national coordination; 4) to coordinate intervention programs; 5) to provide information to professionals and the general public. Knowledge at the RIVM is used to support the Dutch government in formulating and executing its policy. RIVM’s commissioning bodies consist of various ministries and public services such as the inspectorates. RIVM also carries out activities for international organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the World Health Organization (WHO). Moreover RIVM transfers knowledge specifically aimed at capacity and institution building for EU associated partner countries and middle- and low-income ICPC countries, through multilateral and bilateral agreements. One of the main tasks is to protect population from the spread of potentially harmful infections. This includes the monitoring and containing AMR-pathogens through early detection (reference laboratory work) and guideline support. In 1998, the RIVM initiated a coordinated approach to the surveillance of AMR in Europe by setting-up the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS), which for the past eight year has developed into the largest international network on AMR-surveillance worldwide.
Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin - CUB
Charité - University Hospitals (CUB) include a total of 3200 beds in Berlin. The Institute of Hygiene and Environmental Medicine spans 3 large institutions. The team has been responsible for organisation of the German national nosocomial infection surveillance system with 600 hospitals participating and regular questionnaires to the participating hospitals concerning infection control (IC) measures and IC structure, as well as organisation of the HELICS (Hospitals in Europe Link for Infection Control through Surveillance) complementary study to investigate the association between CRBSI rates and IC measures in 526 ICUs participating in 10 countries.
Universitaetsklinikum Freiburg - UKL-FR
The University Medical Center Freiburg (UKL-FR) is one of the largest tertiary-care medical centres in Germany (1600 hospital beds) and one of the most prestigious research-driven medical schools in Germany. The Division of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology is the central unit for infection control and prevention. The team is responsible for practical aspects of infection control as well as involved in related research activities (e.g. KISS). The research topics cover HAI surveillance and analysis, epidemiological and microbiological aspects of antimicrobial resistance and infection control practices (hand and skin antisepsis, control of spread of resistance).
Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille - APHM
The Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Marseille (APHM) is a 3,600-bed tertiary care reference center and teaching institution composed of five facilities. In 2007 there were 116,932 admissions, 809’997 days of hospitalizations, 816’857 consultations, 177’563 visits to the emergency room and 61’305 surgical procedures were performed
National Center for Epidemiology, Budapest - NCE
The Department of Hospital Epidemiology (NCE) coordinates infection prevention and control activities in Hungary, elaboration of national guidelines and recommendations, training in infection control (IC) including surveillance of HAIs, data analysis and feedback, and assistance in IC activities of hospitals. The department was in charge of establishment of the Hungarian National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance System (NNSR) in 2004 with the following modules: ICU device associated infections, surgical site infections (SSI) surveillance, hospital wide blood stream infections (BSI), hospital wide surveillance of infections cause by multidrug resistant organisms. The Department has been participating in the European Network HELICS/IPSE. Szent János Hospital in Budapest is an 1129 beds teaching hospital in Budapest with an ongoing participation in NNSR.
Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow - JUMC
Jagiellonian University Medical College (JUMC) is one of the oldest universities in the world (founded in 1364 AD). Today it is a modern state educational institution with several biomedical faculties. JUMC has the necessary infrastructure and administration to support a variety of research related activities. In 2006 there were 202 large research projects underway, including 54 EU financed projects. The Chair of Microbiology is the oldest microbiological institution in Poland (founded in 1919). The Chair includes bacteriology, virology, parasitology and mycology. The Chair is actively participating in clinical studies and research grants, including grants from the Ministry of Science and conducts a network project on the surveillance of neonatal infections in Polish hospitals. The chair is well prepared both to conduct the proposed research and to construct and disseminate appropriate recommendations.
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine - ICL
Imperial College London (ICL) is a science-based university with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts 12,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality. ICL is consistently rated amongst the world’s best universities, and has extensive management and administrative services to support EU grants and a Clinical Research. The new National Centre for Infection Prevention and Management (CIPM) at ICL brings together internationally recognised translational research, training and leadership focused on improving health systems and health care delivery to address the challenge of health care associated infection (HCAI) and antibiotic resistance which are UK and international health priorities. The centre bridges clinical, public health, academic and managerial expertise to drive forward translational research across secondary and primary care. CPIM draws on strengths from ICL and Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust (ICHT) in basic science, applied infectious diseases, medical microbiology, education, public health, mathematical modelling healthcare management and patient safety, epidemiological, data management, behavioural science & social marketing skills. CIPM has pioneered an organisational approach to infection prevention and also involves Imperial College's Business School. CIPM is also linked to the Centre for Patient Safety and Service Quality (CPSSQ) ICHT led by Prof Charles Vincent (http://www.cpssq.org/) and Imperial’s Department of Primary Care and Social Medicine. ICL is participating in numerous EU funded projects.
World Health Organization – WHO
The World Health Organization –(WHO) is the UN Agency in charge of health. The World Alliance for Patient Safety is WHO’s patient safety program and has existed since 2002. The WHO team will provide technical assistance in measurement and intervention design and implementation in WPs 3, 4 and 5. In 2005, the Alliance launched "Clean Care is Safer Care", a programme aimed to galvanize commitment and action to reduce HAI worldwide through the promotion of hand hygiene. Led by Didier Pittet at UniGE, the programme has achieved much success; 114 countries representing over 80% of the world have signed national pledges to tackle HAI in their health systems. The programme has developed comprehensive evidence-based hand hygiene guidelines and their translation into practice through a multimodal implementation strategy and toolkit. The strategy and accompanying toolkit are being field-tested in 7 pilot sites and over 300 complementary test sites. Technical materials are available in multiple formats.
