Cooper Receives IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence Designation

Cooper University Health Care has been awarded the designation of Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). Cooper is one of 101 programs nationwide to have received the designation since the program’s launch in 2017.

Designated hospitals like Cooper have created stewardship programs led by infectious diseases-trained physicians and pharmacists who advance science in antimicrobial resistance and have achieved standards aligned with evidence-based national guidelines such as the IDSA-SHEA guidelines and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Core Elements. Cooper’s Antimicrobial Stewardship program is a multidisciplinary effort and collaboration between infectious diseases physicians and pharmacists.

“Antimicrobial stewardship programs empower our physicians to choose and prescribe the right antibiotics, at the right dose, and for the right duration to increase patient safety and decrease antibiotic resistance,” said Anthony J. Mazzarelli, MD, JD, MBE, Co-CEO of Cooper.

“This national designation further demonstrates the expertise of our physicians and pharmacists and their commitment to patient safety, which residents have come to expect from Cooper as the leading academic health system in the region,” said Kevin O’Dowd, JD, Co-CEO of Cooper.

“While the world’s attention is rightfully focused on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, drug-resistant infections continue. One of IDSA’s top priorities is fighting antimicrobial resistance through research, education, training, and policy initiatives. Our Centers of Excellence (CoE) program honors institutions that have demonstrated leadership in that fight. Cooper and each of the CoE designees serve a critical role in ensuring that we protect the tools we have against resistant infections, setting a high standard for others to follow,” said IDSA President Thomas M. File Jr., MD, FIDSA.

The core criteria for the CoE program places emphasis on an institution’s ability to implement stewardship protocols by integrating best practices to slow the emergence of resistance, optimize the treatment of infections, and reduce adverse events associated with antibiotic use and other challenging areas related to antimicrobial stewardship. A panel of IDSA member experts in antimicrobial stewardship, including ID-trained physicians and ID-trained pharmacists, evaluate CoE applications against high-level criteria established for determining merit, developed by IDSA leadership.

To learn more about the IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence program, visit www.idsociety.org/clinical-practice/antimicrobial-stewardship/.