International Infection Prevention Week kicks off Oct. 16, and it will mark the silver anniversary for the event, according to an APIC news release (pdf).
IIPW, which runs this year from Oct. 16-22, was established in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan.
"As we mark the 25th anniversary of IIPW, we celebrate the substantial progress that has been made in preventing certain healthcare-associated infections, which have been identified as a Winnable Battle by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention," said APIC 2011 President Russell Olmsted, MPH, CIC, in the release. "But we have a long way to go to attain our ultimate objective of eliminating preventable infections. We believe that the added focus on these issues during IIPW will help us to sustain and accelerate progress toward this objective."
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Half of all U.S. states and nearly 30 associations have signed on to support IIPW.
Highlights of the 2011 commemoration of IIPW include a policy summit on Oct. 19 in Washington, D.C., hosted by APIC and the National Journal, and a series of webinars on infection prevention topics presented by APIC.
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