[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73024-73026]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-6130]


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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

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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