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The Heroes of Infection Prevention Award recognizes APIC members and/or their Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) teams who have successfully applied one of APIC’s future oriented competency domains aimed to reduce infection risks for patients across the continuum of care.

This award is designed to highlight best practices of six exemplary infection preventionists or IPC teams who have adapted to the evolving healthcare system and advances in the field of IP.

2020 program has closed.  
Stay tuned for the 2021 Awards!
Questions? Contact us

BD, a long-term strategic partner, is pleased to support the Heroes Program.

2020 Recipients

Brenda Ehlert, BS, MT(ASCP), MBA, CIC

Oshkosh, WI
Category: Leadership

IPC Team, Northside Hospital Gwinnett-Duluth

Lawrenceville, GA
Category: Quality Improvement

IPC Team, Emory University Hospital Midtown

Atlanta, GA
Category: Quality Improvement

IPC Team, Regions Hospital

MN
Category: Quality Improvement

IPC Team, Westchester Medical Center

Valhalla, NY
Category: IPC Operations

Kelly West, MS, RN, CIC

Team Award with Craig Gilliam
Children’s Hospital Colorado
Aurora, CO
Category: IPC Operations

Craig Gilliam, BSMT, CIC, FAPIC

Team Award with Kelly West
St Jude Children’s Research Hospital
Memphis, TN
Category: IPC Operations

Each award recipient receives a commemorative plaque, complimentary registration and travel stipend to the APIC Annual Conference, and a write-up in APIC’s Prevention Strategist magazine.  The Heroes Awards are presented during the Closing Plenary at the APIC Annual Conference.

In the case of a team nomination, registration and travel stipend are provided for up to three individuals.  One commemorative plaque is provided.

    • All qualified candidates must be active APIC members in good standing the year of the nomination of the award.
    • Applicants must demonstrate a significant impact in any one of the following domains:
      •  Leadership
      • Professional Stewardship
      • Quality Improvement
      • IPC Operations
      • IPC Informatics
      • Research
  • Members can self-nominate for this award.
  • Members of the APIC Nominating and Awards Committee and APIC Board of Directors are not eligible for award nomination during their term of service.

Once the completed application is received, the candidate is scored based on the following criteria:

  • Level of innovation found in the program,
  • Sustainability of the program or initiative, and
  • Overall impact the candidate and/or program has made.

The application for this award must include:

  • Online application.
  • Nomination letter explaining why candidate should be considered a Hero. Describe why candidate is being nominated for this award in conjunction with the selected domain. This statement should be no more than 500 words focusing on one area of impact.
  • Reference letter from nominee’s manager or department leadership. The reference letter should be no more than 500 words describing how the nominee met the awards criteria. The letter should include:
    • Sustainability of program, process or activity over a three-year period.
    • Quantitative proof of success of program, process or activity (You are encouraged to supply proof via graphical representation.)

Note: The nomination letter and reference letter must be submitted by different people.

Scoring is based on evidence of sustainability through data provided for up to three years.

 

Since 2006, more than 100 infection preventionists or teams have received this award. Read about their award winning programs.