Department of Infection Control & Prevention
Infection Control & Prevention On-Call Pager (available 24/7 to VUMC employees and faculty):
835-1205
About the Department
In the News:
NOROVIRUS ACTIVITY INCREASING IN U.S.: How to Prevent Infection (click here)
Fungal Aspergillus Outbreak Related to Spinal Injection Procedures:
****For up-to-date information on the outbreak from the CDC website-- click HERE ****
Updated: Multistate Fungal Meningitis Outbreak Investigation: Clinician Guidance – November 21 (CDC)
CDC Guidance on Management of Asymptomatic Patients (10/24/12)
UPDATED Interim Treatment Options – Outbreak of Fungal Meningitis (10/16/12)
Interim Treatment Options: Septic Arthritis Related to Contaminated Product (10/16/12)
Diagnostic Testing for Septic Arthritis Related to Contaminated Product (10/16/12)
Instructions for Clinical Teams Regarding Diagnostic Testing – Outbreak of Unknown Meningitis (10/4/12)
Specimen Submission Guidelines for:
For Referral to CDC (10/19/12)
Pathologic Evaluation of CNS Infections (10/4/12)
Unexplained Illness due to Possibly Infectious Etiology (10/4/12)
Tennessee Health Alert Network: Adverse Events Following Epidural Steroid Injections of Methylprednisolone from NECC - Including Guidance to Providers on Evaluaiton of Patients (10/3/2012)
VUMC EPI Alert on Fungal Meningitis (10/2/2012)
Department of Infection Control & Prevention in Vanderbilt Medicine
The Department of Infection Control & Prevention was highlighted in a series of articles in the Fall 2006 issue of Vanderbilt Medicine magazine. Click on the links below for more:
VUMC Pandemic Influenza Preparedness
The Department of Emergency Preparedness in conjunction with the Department of Infection Control & Prevention and the Occupation Health Clinic has developed an online education lecture that provides information on personal and institutional preparedness for pandemic influenza. The lecture may be accessed on the Department of Emergency Preparedness website (link).
The Vanderbilt University Medical Center Department of Infection Control & Prevention is primarily responsible for conducting surveillance of hospital-acquired infections and investigating and controlling outbreaks or infection clusters among patients and health care personnel. Infection Control personnel also evaluate new and existing products, examine the latest innovations in personal protective equipment and safe needle devices, and conduct detailed special projects that investigate infection control issues at VUMC and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. The Infection Control Practitioners have educational programs to assure quality of patient care as well as developing infection surveillance policies and procedures.
The department calculates rates of hospital-acquired infections, collates antibiotic susceptibility data, performs analysis of aggregated infection data and provides comparative data to national benchmarks over time. These data are provided to various boards and committees on a routine basis. Working with various physicians and departments, the Department of Infection Control & Prevention also provides data for research and publications. We work closely with the Occupational Health Clinic and Vanderbilt Environmental Health and Safety, the Center for Clinical Improvement, and Risk Management, as well as state and local health departments.
Please use the menu at left to learn more about our department's functions and activities.
