Candace Friedman

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Candace Friedman BS, MT (ASCP), MPH, CIC

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Candace Friedman served as APIC president in 1997.

Read a guest editorial in the December 1996 issue of AJIC by Candace titled, “A brave new world of information and communication for infection control professionals.”

Read Candace’s presidential address in which she outlines major APIC milestones as published in APIC News.

Read a 1997 copy of APIC News titled: “APIC’s New Strategic Initiatives.”

The following is an excerpt from Candace’s presidential address given at APIC’s 1997 Annual Conference in New Orleans, in which she shares memories and milestones of APIC: 

APIC commemorated its 25th anniversary in 1997 by looking backward and also by planning for our next 25 years. The 1997 Board, Committee Chairs and members, other volunteers, and National Office staff worked together to ensure that our members could be proud of APIC’s accomplishments and that our profession will move forward.

On April 18, 1972, a group of visionary individuals created our organization. To celebrate, we honored members of the original steering committee at the APIC’97 conference in New Orleans. A 25th anniversary logo was placed on most APIC items to remind us of this important occasion. In addition, AJIC developed special topics for each issue as part of our anniversary celebration. 

Many important activities occurred last year, too many to mention completely. However, the following items are among the highlights:

  • Membership sections were approved as part of the official APIC structure, as were Chapter Coordinating Councils. These two affiliations will enhance networking capabilities and strategic activities.  
  • APIC’s scientific, peer-reviewed journal, AJIC, continued to provide readers with information on current research, new feature articles, and guidelines. 
  • A member survey to determine what’s happening to our members due to changes in healthcare was completed. Results were used in developing a new strategic plan, presented at APIC’97, and will be published in AJIC. 
  • A white paper on Requirements for infrastructure and essential activities of infection control and epidemiology in hospitals: A consensus panel report (a joint effort with SHEA) was completed on the resources and activities necessary for hospital programs. 
  • A State of the Art Report (SOAR) on Use of Scrubs and Related Apparel in Healthcare Facilities was published. The Long-Term Care position paper (a joint effort with SHEA) was revised. A position statement on the use of antimicrobial household products was published. Comments were sent to HICPAC on the draft of the Guideline for Infection Control in Health Care Personnel. A position statement on Release of Nosocomial Infection Data was published.
  • Draft standards of practice for IC were developed. These standards can be used to appraise the effectiveness and excellence of our practice. 
  • An Infection Control Resource Center was initiated – it includes APICweb, APIClist, Resource Line, and our developing library. 
  • Numerous educational products were produced: a TB computer-assisted learning module, an APIC Handbook of Infection Control, independent study offerings, a home care video, and various educational pamphlets. Conferences and workshops presented included: Infection Control Issues in Long-Term Care, Infection Control for the Critically Ill, Fundamentals of Surveillance, Prevention and Control of Health Care Acquired Infections, and Advanced Practice Course: Applied Health Care Epidemiology. 
  • New Orleans set the stage for a successful educational conference and international meeting, including a popular symposium on managed care, and a post-conference on Sterilization, Disinfection and Antisepsis.
  • APIC collaborated with several organizations on various products, services, and educational programs: The Healthcare Continuum Model symposium with the FDA and two trade industry groups, a videoconference on Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci with the CDC, and an Infectious Disease Conference with the AORN.
  • Talking points regarding the proposed OSHA rule for preventing occupational exposure to tuberculosis were issued to provide information to our members to support arguments against the proposed rule. With the support of other organizations, APIC successfully obtained an extension to the public comment period and hosted a roundtable discussion to map strategies for formal responses to the rule.
  • APIC began the development of a National Coalition for Infection Prevention and Control. We have invited other organizations to join in this exciting effort. APIC leaders believe there is a need for more cohesion in the infection prevention community and view this coalition as one way to collaborate on various projects with similar organizations.
  • Chapter partnerships with professional organizations in other countries are being encouraged based on APIC-Minnesota’s model. APIC invites Chapters to partner with these organizations in order to lend expertise, learn from the experiences of other countries, and develop support systems.
  • The APIC Research Foundation is moving toward its goal of one million dollars by 1998. One use of these Research Foundation funds is to support an APIC fellow-in-residence at the CDC who will investigate staffing issues. 
  • The Certification Board of Infection Control, Inc. (CBIC) changed its name by adding ‘and Epidemiology’ and moved under a new management company, AMC. 
  • APIC created the Center for Clinical Epidemiology which will initially act as a through station for ORYX data submitted from CDC’s NNIS hospitals to the Joint Commission. We now have an opportunity to develop a database for non-hospital settings and educational materials on performance measurement.
  • APIC’s strategic plan was revamped this year. The new plan spans the years 1998-2000 – so it will take us up to the next century. Many of our achievements this year were stimulated by this revised strategic plan.

All of our accomplishments in 1997 were made possible by APIC volunteers, contractual agents, and staff – a very dedicated, committed, and hardworking group of individuals who contribute to our organization. I am proud to have been a part of all these achievements and to have had the chance to participate in so many changes for APIC. Thank you for your support and assistance and for giving me this opportunity.