HAI Fast Forward Series: Keeping the ship afloat: Contracting out HAI surveillance during COVID-19

Christina Zirges, DNP, ACNS-BC, CIC, FAPIC is currently the system Director of Infection Prevention and Control for SSM Health which includes oversite for infection prevention for over twenty hospitals and over one hundred outpatient locations. Chris facilitates the system-level Healthcare Epidemiology Infection Control (HEIC) committee encompassing four states with a focus on implementing and standardizing evidence-based infection prevention strategies. Memberships include the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), and past president and board member of the Greater St. Louis APIC chapter. Other professional endeavors include board member on the board of directors for the Certification Board of Infection Control (CBIC) for two terms, Vice-Chair of the APIC Professional Development Committee, a board member on the Board of Directors for the Healthcare Laundry Accreditation Council (HLAC), and the HAI Advisory Council through the University of Missouri (Sinclair School of Nursing).

Theresa is a SSM Health System Senior Infection Preventionist with surveillance and data responsibility for 22 acute care/critical access hospitals.  She attended Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing.  During her career with SSM Health, she has worked as an ICU RN and then as an Infection Preventionist until 2018 when she assumed a Senior Infection Preventionist role. She is passionate about educating others in NHSN surveillance definitions and developing processes in the electronic health record to enhance and simplify surveillance at all levels of healthcare. She enjoys facilitating ways to visualize and understand the NHSN data and healthcare acquired infections, while working with multi-disciplinary teams to promote patient safety and reduce harm.

Jenna Eichelberger, MPH, CPH, is an Infection Prevention Epidemiologist with SSM Health, a healthcare system based in St. Louis, MO. She received her Master of Public Health degree from Saint Louis University in May 2018, with concentrations in Epidemiology and Biosecurity/Disaster Preparedness. While in her graduate program, she began her career with SSM Health as an Infection Prevention Technician at one of the system’s 20 hospitals. After graduating, she worked as an Infection Preventionist for several months before recently transitioning into an Epidemiologist role. She is a member of her local Greater St. Louis APIC chapter and is also Certified in Public Health (CPH).