This national program recognizes medical institutions across the country that have created stewardship programs led by infectious disease physicians and pharmacists to achieve the highest standards aligned with the evidence-based guidelines for antimicrobial medication use.

Antimicrobial medication (antibiotics) are drugs that kill certain kinds of germs and bacteria and stop their growth. When antibiotics are used incorrectly, they can cause side effects and contribute to antimicrobial resistance. This is when germs can defeat the drugs designed to kill them allowing for the germs to continue to grow.

“I am very proud of the continued progress our Antimicrobial Stewardship Team has put into this initiative since the program’s formation in 2014,” said Dani Hackner, MD, Chief Clinical Officer at Southcoast Health. “With exceptional collaboration and dedication, this team of infectious disease specialists have established a restricted antibiotic policy ensuring the proper use of the most valuable antimicrobials across our system. This program helps to continually educate our providers and improves the care we deliver to our patients to best support their long-term health.”

According to the CDC, using antibiotics appropriately helps to combat antimicrobial resistance and ensures these lifesaving drugs will continue to be effective. In the United States, more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur each year and more than 35,000 people die as a result.

Only 177 hospitals across the country have received this designation since the program’s launch in 2017. This is the second time that Charlton Memorial Hospital has achieved this designation, earning it for the first time in 2019. This accomplishment is a testament to the teamwork between Southcoast Health providers, nurses, pharmacists, microbiologists, and infection prevention specialists across the system.

“This achievement shows that we are committed to ensuring our patients receive the best care, including appropriate selection, dose, route and frequency of administration, and duration of therapy of antibiotics,” says Nita George Roy, Pharm.D., RPh, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Infectious Disease and Antimicrobial Stewardship at Southcoast Health.

“Each year, new guidelines are introduced to help us best serve our patients and community. Our team is constantly evaluating the current trends in our area for resistant bacteria. We also educate medical, nursing and pharmacy staff to ensure knowledge of these current patterns, so they can treat our patients with the most appropriate methods,” added Jill Makowski, MBA, CHC, RPh, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist – Infectious Disease and Antimicrobial Stewardship at Southcoast Health.

In addition to this reaccreditation, Southcoast Health Urgent Care also earned special recognition from the Urgent Care Association for the Antibiotic Stewardship Program, highlighting Southcoast Health’s commitment to excellence in this area of patient care.

To learn more about the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Southcoast Health please visit Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Southcoast Health | Southcoast Health.