[Federal Register: December 26, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 246)]
[Notices]
[Page 73024-73026]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26de07-69]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of
Authority
Part C (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) of the
Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority of
the Department of Health and Human Services (45 FR 67772-76, dated
October 14, 1980, and corrected at 45 FR 69296, October 20, 1980, as
amended most recently at 72 FR 67308, dated November 28, 2007) is
amended to reflect the reorganization of the Division of Healthcare
Quality Promotion, National Center for Preparedness, Detection and
Control of Infectious Diseases, Coordinating Center for Infectious
Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Section C-B, Organization and Functions, is hereby amended as
follows: Delete in their entirety the functional statements for the
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (CVKD), and insert the
following:
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (CVKD). The mission of the
Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP) is to protect patients;
protect healthcare personnel; and promote safety, quality, and value in
both national and international healthcare delivery systems. In
carrying out its mission, DHQP: (1) Measures, validates, interprets,
and responds to data relevant to healthcare processes and outcomes,
healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial resistance, adverse
drug events, and other related adverse events or medical errors in
healthcare affecting patients and healthcare personnel; (2)
investigates and responds to emerging infections and related adverse
events among patients and healthcare providers, or others associated
with the healthcare environment; (3) collaborates with academic and
public health partners to design, develop, and evaluate the efficacy of
interventions for preventing infections and reducing antimicrobial
resistance, and related adverse events or medical errors; (4) develops
and disseminates evidence-based guidelines and recommendations to
prevent and control healthcare-associated infections/antimicrobial
resistance, and related adverse events or medical errors; (5) promotes
the nationwide implementation of Healthcare Infection Control Practices
Advisory Committee (HICPAC) recommendations and other evidence-based
interventions to prevent healthcare-associated infections,
antimicrobial resistance, and related adverse events or medical errors
among patients and healthcare personnel; evaluates the impact of these
recommendations and interventions across the spectrum of healthcare
delivery sites; (6) develops, implements, and evaluates the
effectiveness and impact of interventions to prevent transmission of
healthcare-associated human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and other
bloodborne pathogen infections; (7) develops and evaluates diagnostic
instruments and novel laboratory tests to detect and characterize
antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens and the infections that
they cause; (8) promotes high standards of water quality in healthcare
settings and tests and assures the water quality for CCID laboratories;
(9) conducts epidemiologic, and basic and applied laboratory research
to identify new strategies to prevent infections/antimicrobial
resistance, and related adverse events or medical errors, especially
those associated with medical or surgical procedures, indwelling
medical devices, contaminated products, dialysis, and water; (10)
establishes evidence-based data for bioterrorism preparedness, and
building and site remediation by performing laboratory research on
surface sampling, detection of bacterial bioterrorist agents by non-
culture methods, and rapid detection of antimicrobial resistance in
category A and B bacterial bioterrorist agents; (11) serves as the
National
[[Page 73025]]
Reference Laboratory for the identification and antimicrobial
susceptibility testing of staphylococci, anaerobic bacteria, and those
gram-negative bacilli causing healthcare-associated infections; (12)
develops and maintains the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), a
tool for monitoring healthcare-associated infections, for measuring
healthcare outcomes and processes, and for monitoring healthcare worker
vaccination and selected health measures in healthcare facilities; (13)
continually assesses rates of infections caused by resistant-bacteria
in the U.S. through active surveillance, review of national healthcare
data sets, and laboratory surveillance programs; (14) promotes the
integration of the healthcare delivery system in federal/state/local
public health preparedness planning; (15) coordinates activities,
guidance, and research related to infection control across the agency
and with national and international partners; (16) collaborates with
other CDC National Centers (NC) and partners to assure quality clinical
microbiology laboratory practices through proficiency testing,
educational programs, and training of personnel; (17) trains Epidemic
Intelligence Service Officers and other trainees; (18) coordinates
antimicrobial resistance activities at CDC; (19) represents CDC as co-
chair of the federal Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial
Resistance; (20) works in a national leadership capacity with public
and private organizations to enhance antimicrobial resistance
prevention and control, surveillance and response, and applied
research; (21) coordinates blood, organ, and other tissue safety at
CDC; (22) represents CDC on the Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and
Availability and the Advisory Committee on Organ Transplantation; and
(23) works in a national leadership capacity with other public and
private organizations to enhance blood, organ, and other tissue safety
through coordination of investigation, prevention, response,
surveillance, applied research, health communication, and public
policy.
Office of the Director (CVDK1). (1) Manages, directs, and
coordinates the activities of the DHQP: (2) provides leadership and
guidance on policy, communications/media, program planning and
development, program management, and operations; (3) provides DHQP-wide
administrative and program services and coordinates or ensures
coordination with the appropriate NC's and CDC staff offices on
administrative and program matters; (4) provides liaison with other
governmental agencies, international organizations, and other outside
groups; (5) coordinates, in collaboration with the appropriate NC and
CDC components, global health activities relating to the prevention of
healthcare-associated infections/antimicrobial resistance, and related
adverse events or medical errors; (6) coordinates activities, guidance,
and research related to infection control across the agency and with
national and international partners; (7) works with other federal
agencies, state governments, medical societies, and other public and
private organizations to promote collaboration and to integrate
healthcare preparedness in federal/state/local public health
preparedness planning; (8) develops and conducts healthcare
preparedness exercises and drills; (9) leads and staffs the Healthcare
Delivery and the Infection Control/Clinical Care functional seats in
the CDC Director's Emergency Operations Center; (10) coordinates
antimicrobial resistance activities at CDC and represents CDC as co-
chair of the federal Interagency Task Force on Antimicrobial
Resistance; (11) works with other agencies, state governments, medical
societies, and other public and private organizations to enhance
antimicrobial resistance prevention and control, surveillance and
response, and applied research; (12) coordinates blood, organ, and
other tissue safety at CDC and represents CDC on the Advisory Committee
on Blood Safety and Availability and the Advisory Committee on Organ
Transplantation; (13) works with other federal agencies, state
governments, and other public and private organizations to enhance
blood, organ, and other tissue safety through coordination of
investigation, prevention, response, surveillance, applied research,
health communication, and public policy; (14) provides program and
administrative support for HICPAC; and (15) advises the Director,
NCPDCID, on policy matters concerning DHQP activities.
Clinical and Environmental Microbiology Branch (CVKDB). (1)
Collaborates with the Prevention and Response Branch to provide
laboratory response to outbreaks and emerging threats associated with
infections/antimicrobial resistance and related adverse events
throughout the healthcare delivery system; (2) provides comprehensive
laboratory support and expertise for investigations of recognized and
emerging bacterial agents in healthcare settings; (3) develops methods
to assess contamination of environmental surfaces with bacterial agents
of bioterrorism, the effectiveness of various water treatment
strategies to control the intentional introduction of agents of
bioterrorism into municipal water systems, and develops molecular
methods for rapid assessment of antimicrobial resistance in agents of
bioterrorism; (4) investigates novel and emerging mechanisms of
antimicrobial resistance among targeted pathogens found in healthcare
settings; (5) detects the toxins/virulence factors of bacteria causing
healthcare-associated infections to understand their transmission and
pathogenicity; (6) conducts research in collaboration with partners to
develop new, accurate methods of detecting antimicrobial resistance in
bacteria and to improve reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility
testing results to physicians to improve antimicrobial use; (7)
conducts laboratory research to identify new strategies to prevent
infections/antimicrobial resistance, related adverse events, and
medical errors, especially those associated with invasive medical
devices, contaminated products, dialysis, and water; (8) evaluates
commercial microbial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility
testing systems and products and facilitates their improvement to
provide accurate patient test results; (9) provides leadership in
reducing microbiology laboratory errors that affect patient outcomes by
evaluating laboratory proficiency and promoting laboratory quality
improvements; (10) investigates the role of biofilms, particularly
those detected in indwelling medical devices and medical water systems,
in medicine and public health, and identifies novel methods to
eliminate colonization and biofilm formation on foreign bodies; (11)
investigates the role of the water distribution systems in healthcare
facilities in order to understand and prevent waterborne healthcare-
associated infections; (12) provides expertise, research opportunity,
training, and laboratory support for investigations of infections and
related adverse events to those in other CDC NCs and to our partners in
areas related to quality clinical microbiology laboratory practices,
investigation of emerging pathogens, environmental microbiology and
bioterrorism preparedness.
Prevention and Response Branch (CVKDC). (1) Coordinates rapid and
effective epidemiologic response to strategically selected outbreaks
and emerging threats caused by healthcare-associated infections,
related adverse
[[Page 73026]]
healthcare events, related infections in the community, and
antimicrobial resistance; communicates the results and findings of
response activities with federal and state agencies in order to alert
healthcare providers and educate the public to prevent similar adverse
events in the future; (2) strategically supports local, state,
national, and international efforts to prevent healthcare-associated
infections, related infections in the community, antimicrobial
resistance, and related adverse events or medical errors using
evidence-based recommendations and effective health communications
strategies that enhance rapid and reliable information dissemination
and exchange; (3) develops and/or evaluates the effectiveness of both
experimental and applied interventions to prevent healthcare-associated
infections, related infections in the community, antimicrobial
resistance, blood-borne virus transmission, and related adverse events
or medical errors across the spectrum of healthcare delivery sites; (4)
provides epidemiology support to laboratory branch for investigation
and study of both recognized and emerging bacterial healthcare
pathogens and related community pathogens, including antimicrobial
resistant forms of these pathogens; (5) develops, promotes, and
monitors implementation of guidelines/recommendations, and other proven
interventions to prevent healthcare-associated infections, related
infections in the community, blood-borne virus transmission,
antimicrobial resistance, medical errors, and occupational infections/
exposures among healthcare personnel; (6) develops and/or evaluates the
effectiveness of both experimental and applied interventions to promote
healthcare worker safety; (7) develops, promotes, and monitors
implementation of interventions to prevent transmission of healthcare-
associated HIV infections and conducts case investigations of
occupational HIV infections; (8) conducts research, including applied
epidemiologic and clinical, to prevent healthcare-associated infections
and antimicrobial resistant infections; (9) provides expert
consultation, guidance, and technical support to other branches in the
division, across the agency, to domestic and international partners,
and the U.S. public on the epidemiology and prevention of healthcare-
associated infections, related community infections, antimicrobial
resistance, and exposures/injuries among healthcare personnel; and (10)
provides epidemiology support to clinical and environmental
microbiology branch to identify new strategies to prevent adverse
events due to infections associated with indwelling medical devices,
contaminated products, dialysis, and water.
Surveillance Branch (CVKDD). (1) Monitors and evaluates on the
national level the extent, distribution, and impact of healthcare-
associated infections, antimicrobial use and resistance, adverse drug
events, healthcare worker safety events, and adherence to clinical
processes and intervention programs designed to prevent or control
adverse exposures or outcomes in healthcare; (2) provides leadership
and consultative services for statistical methods and analysis to
investigators in the Branch, Division, and other organizations
responsible for surveillance, research studies, and prevention and
control of healthcare-associated infections and other healthcare-
associated adverse events; (3) improves methods and enables wider use
of clinical performance measurements by healthcare facilities and
public health entities for specific interventions and prevention
strategies designed to safeguard patients and healthcare workers from
risk exposures and adverse outcomes through collaborations with
extramural partners; (4) collaborates with public and private sector
partners to further standardize, integrate, and streamline systems by
which healthcare organizations collect, manage, analyze, report, and
respond to data on clinical guideline adherence, healthcare-associated
infections, including transmission of multi-drug-resistant organisms
and other healthcare-associated adverse events; (5) coordinates,
further develops, enables wider use, and maintains the NHSN, (a web-
based system for healthcare facilities throughout the U.S. to collect
and analyze their own data and share data with DHQP and other
organizations on healthcare-associated adverse events and process-of-
care measures) to obtain scientifically valid clinical performance
indices and benchmarks that promote healthcare quality and value at the
facility, state, and national levels; (6) conducts applied research to
identify and develop innovative methods to detect and monitor
healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial resistance; (7)
conducts special studies and provides national estimates of targeted,
healthcare-associated adverse events, antimicrobial use and resistance
patterns, and the extent to which prevention and control safeguards are
in use to protect at-risk patients across the spectrum of healthcare
delivery sites; and (8) uses NHSN and other data sources to conduct
special studies and provide national estimates of targeted occupational
illnesses and injuries among healthcare workers and the extent to which
preventive safeguards are in use across the spectrum of healthcare
delivery sites.
Dated: December 13, 2007.
William H. Gimson,
Chief Operating Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[FR Doc. 07-6130 Filed 12-21-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4160-18-M