Ruth Carrico Appointed to HICPAC

A faculty member at the University of Louisville School of Public Health and Information Sciences has been selected to advise national healthcare leaders on infection control policy. Ruth Carrico, PhD, is one of 14 experts appointed to a committee that will provide guidance to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"I consider my appointment to the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) a highlight of my professional career," Carrico says.

HICPAC provides advice and guidance on healthcare infection control practice, strategies for surveillance, and prevention and control of infections at facilities like hospitals and nursing homes. HICPAC also recommends new infection control guidelines and updates to current policies related to prevention of healthcare-associated infections like bloodstream or surgical site infections.

"Ruth's appointment represents true recognition for her knowledge and expertise by others in the field of infection prevention and control," says Richard Clover, MD, dean of the  U of L School of Public Health & Information Sciences.

Carrico has served as the editor of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Text of Infection Control and Epidemiology, a textbook used to train infection prevention professionals since 2005. She also sits on the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology (CBIC), a voluntary multidisciplinary board that provides direction and administers the certification process for professionals in infection prevention and control and applied epidemiology.

During 2008-2010, Carrico also served on the National Biosurveillance Subcommittee, an advisory committee to the director of the CDC. This committee was established following the 2007 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21) that recognized the emergence of significant health-related threats to the nation. During her appointment, the committee provided counsel regarding the broad range of issues impacting the development and implementation of a nationwide biosurveillance strategy for human health.

She will sit on the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee until 2014.