Department of Health Honor Roll for Stewardship Program

Department of Health Honor Roll for Stewardship Program

The Washington State Department of Health honors and commends facilities that are working to improve antibiotic use, reduce antibiotic resistance, and improve patient outcomes by establishing an antibiotic stewardship program that meets CDC’s core elements of antibiotic stewardship. 

Current Honor Roll Members:

Hospitals

Long-Term Care Facilities

How to apply:

For those interested in applying, please contact the Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance Program for the Honor Roll Program requirements and application. Each facility that meets the criteria for a stewardship program will receive a certificate from the department and be listed on our Honor Roll for Stewardship.  

Program elements:

Facilities listed below have implemented an antimicrobial stewardship program that is aligned with the criteria outlined by the CDC’s Core Elements of a Hospital/Long-Term Care Stewardship Program:

  1. Leadership commitment: Dedicate necessary human, financial, and informatics resources.
  2. Accountability: Appoint a single leader responsible for program outcomes.
  3. Drug expertise: Appoint a single pharmacist leader to support improved prescribing.
  4. Action: Take at least one prescribing improvement action.
  5. Track: Monitor prescribing and antibiotic resistance patterns.
  6. Report: Regularly report to staff prescribing and resistance patterns and identify steps to improve appropriate prescribing.
  7. Educate: Offer education about antibiotic resistance and optimal prescribing practices.

CDC has based recommendations on a growing body of evidence that shows antimicrobial stewardship programs help:

  • optimize treatment of infections
  • reduce adverse events attributed to antibiotic use
  • reduce hospital rates of Clostridium difficile infections
  • prevent emergence of resistance
  • lead to better outcomes for residents in long-term care