Dear Colleagues,
Last month, SHEA hosted virtual meetings on Capitol Hill for our member advocates to talk about funding key federal programs in fiscal year 2026 that address healthcare-associated infections and the spread of antimicrobial resistant infections. This is our third and best year for this event with more meetings held than ever before. SHEA advocates volunteered their time to participate in advocate training and represent SHEA’s policy agenda to their congressional delegations. Our message of investing in prevention and infrastructure, particularly in support of CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) was received well by all of the offices we visited and we will continue to raise awareness through educating appropriators and key health policy influencers on Capitol Hill. We are encouraged by this response and feel strongly there is a home for our nonpartisan patient safety message.
At the end of this month, we’re excited to welcome hundreds of attendees to SHEA Spring 2025 at the Omni ChampionsGate in Orlando. This event promises to be a hub of cutting-edge discussions, networking opportunities, and insights into the latest developments in infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship. We are looking forward to convening experts and practitioners from around the world to exchange ideas and strategies for advancing patient safety and infection prevention. We will miss our public health colleagues who are unable to join us this year. I know we can all say we will miss seeing and hearing from them and learning about their research this year.
I’d also like to encourage you to mark your calendars now for IDWeek 2025, held in partnership with IDSA, PIDS, HIVMA, and SIDP in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 19-22, 2025. We encourage all SHEA members to attend as there will be a substantial amount relevant content presented organized by the SHEA program committee contingent led by Chair, Dr. Danielle Zerr and Vice Chair, Dr. Susy Hota. For more information, visit www.IDweek.org.
We are also reminding everyone that World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5, 2025 is right around the corner. SHEA plans to highlight our contributions throughout the day to promote hand hygiene. If you are looking for resources to promote at your own institution, the WHO has wonderful resources that can be leveraged. Check out their site for more information: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-hand-hygiene-day/2025.
Sincerely,
David J. Weber, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA, FRSM
SHEA 2025 President