SHEA Announces 2014 Delegation of International Ambassadors to Spur Global Collaboration

The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) announces the 2014 delegation of its International Ambassadors Program. Since 2009, SHEA has sponsored more than 60 healthcare professionals from 30 countries to foster international infection prevention and control efforts through education and collaboration.         
 
Because dangerous antibiotic-resistant microbes know no borders, programs like SHEAs International Ambassadors are critical to encouraging dialogue on best practices in infection control and prevention on a global scale, says Michael Klompas, MD, chair of SHEAs External Affairs Committee and Associate Hospital Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital. There is a need for the best and brightest in the global healthcare community to work and learn together.
 
Since the programs launch, its focus has been on building collaborative relationships between U.S. and international healthcare professionals with expertise in healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention.  Each year, SHEA selects 10-12 delegates from around the world to participate in intensive training in the United States, as well as connect to leading experts in the field worldwide. The 2014 delegation represents 10 different countries and 4 continents.
 
In our increasingly interconnected society, antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections are global health issues, says Daniel J. Diekema, MD, president of SHEA and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. We need to continue to champion opportunities to share our expertise and strengthen global infection prevention efforts.
 
Ambassadors are given a one-year membership in the Society to foster networking and access to Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the organizations scientific journal. Ambassadors also attend the SHEA Spring Conference on Healthcare Epidemiology and participate in IDWeek, the joint annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), SHEA, the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS).
 
The 2014 SHEA International Ambassadors include:
 Debora Mello, MSN, RN, Coordenação de Vigilância em Saúde (São Paulo, Brazil)
 Workeabeba Abebe Taye, MD, MPH, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia )
 Carmen Soria Segarra, MD, Hospital Luis Vernaza (Guayaquil, Ecuador)
 Nadeem Masih, RN, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital Research Centre (Lahore, Pakistan)
 Majesté Ihou Wateba, MD, University of Lomé (Lomé, Togo)
 Nagwa Mustafa El Amin, MD, PhD, Soba University Hospital (Al Kharm, Sudan)
 Savitha Nagaraj,MBBS, MD, DNB, St. Johns Medical College and Hospital (Bangalore, India)
 Fredrick Wambu, RN, Nairobi Hospital (Nairobi, Kenya)
 Indumathi Venkatachalam, MPH, MBBS, National University Health System, Singapore (Singapore)
 Diana Vilar-Compte, MD, MSc, Instituto Nacional de Cancerología (Mexico City, Mexico)

SHEA acknowledges a grant from 3M Corporation, which supports the International Ambassador Program.

Source: SHEA