Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 96 / Thursday, May 16, 1996 / Notices 24799

No scientific publications were

required to be corrected as part of this

Agreement.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Director, Division of Research

Investigations, Office of Research

Integrity, 5515 Security Lane, Suite 700,

Rockville, MD 20852.

Chris B. Pascal, J.D.,

Acting Director, Office of Research Integrity.

[FR Doc. 96–12263 Filed 5–15–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–17–P

Agency for Health Care Policy and

Research

Notice of Advisory Committee

Meetings

In accordance with section 10(a) of

the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5

U.S.C., Appendix 2) announcement is

made of the following advisory

committees scheduled to meet during

the month of June 1996:

Name: Health Services Research Review

Subcommittee.

Date and Time: June 6–7, 1996, 8:30 a.m.

Place: Ramada Inn, 1775 Rockville Pike,

Conference Room TBA, Rockville, Maryland

20852. Open June 6, 1996, 8:30 a.m. to 9:00

a.m. Closed for remainder of meeting.

Purpose: The Subcommittee is charged

with the initial review of grant applications

proposing analytical and theoretical research

on costs, quality, access, and efficiency of the

delivery of health services for the research

grant program administered by the Agency

for Health Care Policy and Research

(AHCPR).

Agenda: The open session of the meeting

on June 6, from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., will

be devoted to a business meeting covering

administrative matters and reports. During

the closed session, the Subcommittee will be

reviewing and discussing grant applications

dealing with health services research issues.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory

Committee Act, section 10(d) of 5 U.S.C.,

Appendix 2 and 5 U.S.C., 552b(c)(6), the

Administrator, AHCPR, has made a formal

determination that this latter session will be

closed because the discussions are likely to

reveal personal information concerning

individuals associated with the grant

applications. This information is exempt

from mandatory disclosure.

Anyone wishing to obtain a roster of

members, minutes of the meeting, or other

relevant information should contact Patricia

G. Thompson, Ph.D., Scientific Review

Administrator, Office of Scientific Affairs,

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research,

Suite 400, Executive Office Center, 2101 East

Jefferson Street, Rockville, Maryland 20852,

Telephone (301) 594–1437x1607.

Name: Health Services Research

Dissemination Study Section.

Date and Time: June 27, 1996, 7:30 a.m.

Place: Doubletree Hotel, 1750 Rockville

Pike, Conference Room TBA, Rockville,

Maryland 20852. Open June 27, 1996, 7:30

a.m. to 8:00 a.m. Closed for remainder of

meeting.

Purpose: The Study Section is charged

with the review of and making

recommendations on grant applications for

Federal support of conferences, workshops,

meetings, or projects related to dissemination

and utilization of research findings, and

AHCPR liaison with health care policy

makers, providers, and consumers.

Agenda: The open session of the meeting

on June 27, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., will

be devoted to a business meeting covering

administrative matters and reports. During

the closed session, the Subcommittee will be

reviewing and discussing grant applications

dealing with health services research issues.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory

Committee Act, section 10(d) of 5 U.S.C.,

Appendix 2 and 5 U.S.C., 552b(c)(6), the

Administrator, AHCPR, has made a formal

determination that this latter session will be

closed because the discussions are likely to

reveal personal information concerning

individuals associated with the grant

applications. This information is exempt

from mandatory disclosure.

Anyone wishing to obtain a roster of

members, minutes of the meeting, or other

relevant information should contact Linda

Blankenbaker, Scientific Review

Administrator, Office of Scientific Affairs,

Agency for Health Care Policy and Research,

Suite 400, 2101 East Jefferson Street,

Rockville, Maryland 20852, Telephone (301)

594–1437x1603.

Agenda items for all meetings are subject

to change as priorities dictate.

Dated: May 8, 1996.

Clifton R. Gaus,

Administrator.

[FR Doc. 96–12361 Filed 5–15–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4160–90–M

Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention

[30 DAY–11]

Agency Forms Undergoing Paperwork

Reduction Act Review

The Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) publishes a list of

information collection requests under

review, in compliance with the

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.

Chapter 35). To request a copy of these

requests, call the CDC Reports Clearance

Office on (404) 639–7090.

The following requests have been

submitted for review since the last

publication date on May 9, 1996.

Proposed Project

1. Intensive-Care Antimicrobial

Resistance Epidemiology (Project

ICARE), Phase II—NEW—Antibiotic

resistance is estimated to cost as much

as 4 billion dollars a year to the health

care system in the United States and the

number of resistant microorganisms is

increasing. For example, data reported

to the National Nosocomial Infections

Surveillance (NNIS) system

demonstrated a 20-fold increase,

between January 1989 and March 1993,

in the percentage of enterococci

associated with nosocomial infections

that are resistant to vancomycin (VRE).

Additional analysis of NNIS data has

demonstrated that other antibiotic

resistant nosocomial pathogens have

also increased in recent years. One of

the major factors limiting the

understanding of antibiotic resistance

among nosocomial pathogens is the lack

of information on the relationship

between the amount and kind of

antibiotic used in hospitals and the

emergence of resistance.

This proposed one year study, called

Project ICARE, will collect data on the

amount of antibiotics used in 50 NNIS

hospitals and the antibiotic

susceptibility patterns found in certain

bacterial pathogens isolated in these

hospitals’ microbiology laboratories

between June 1996 and June 1997.

Further, new mechanisms of resistance

will be studied on specific antibioticresistant isolates that will be sent to

CDC from these laboratories. A

successful pilot study involving eight

NNIS hospitals was conducted between

August 1994 and January 1995 to study

the feasibility of collecting such

information.

After initially setting up the project

with information on the different

intensive care units (ICUs) and wards,

the hospital will provide three different

types of data each month: (1) Summary

of the amount of parenteral and oral

antibiotics, by generic group, reported

by the pharmacy, (2) summary of the

number of isolates, by species,

susceptible, intermediate or resistant to

various antibiotics reported by the

microbiology laboratory, and (3) actual

isolates of resistant pathogens to be sent

to by the microbiology laboratory to

CDC. For antibiotics used and number

of isolates in each of the susceptibility

categories, separate data are to be

reported for each ICU, all other

inpatients, and outpatients (antibiotic

use among outpatients is not collected).

Data collection forms for summary data

from the microbiology laboratory and

pharmacy have been created to assist in

recording the data; however, the data

will be entered into a computer software

created by CDC specifically for Project

ICARE. The software will be provided to

the hospitals at no cost. Data will be

transmitted to CDC by floppy disk or by

electronic transfer when it become

available in the NNIS system in 1996.
24800 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 96 / Thursday, May 16, 1996 / Notices

Respondents No. of respondents

No. of responses/respondentAvg. burden/

response

(in hrs)

Primary Contact ................................................................................................................................ 50 12 1

Pharmacist ........................................................................................................................................ 50 60 1.8

Microbiologist .................................................................................................................................... 50 60 0.35

Total ....................................................................................................................................... ...................... ...................... ........................

The total burden hours is 7050. Send

comments to Desk Officer, CDC; Human

Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235;

Washington, DC 20503.

4. National Nosocomial Infections

Surveillance (NNIS) System—(0920–

0012)—Extension—The National

Nosocomial Infections Surveillance

(NNIS) system is currently the only

source for national data on nosocomial

(hospital-associated) infections in the

United States. It first began collecting

data in 1970. It is a collaborative project

between the Hospital Infections Program

of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) and voluntarily

participating hospitals in the United

States. The goals of the system are to: (1)

develop comparative nosocomial

infection rates that can be used by

hospitals to assess quality of care, (2)

describe the scope and magnitude,

including trends, of the nosocomial

infection problem in the U.S., (3)

identify risk factors associated with

these infections, (4) assist hospitals in

the effective use of surveillance data to

improve the quality of patient care, and

(5) conduct collaborative research

studies. Data are collected using

protocols developed by CDC that define

the specific populations of patients at

risk, risk factors, and outcomes. The

decision about which component(s) to

use is made by each hospital depending

on its own needs for surveillance data.

The data are collected by trained

surveillance personnel, assisted by

hospital personnel, and are entered into

IDEAS, a surveillance software which

makes the data available for analysis at

the hospital’s convenience. The data are

currently transmitted to CDC by floppy

disk, then aggregated into a national

database. During 1996, it will become

possible for some hospitals to transmit

the data to CDC through the NNIS

telecommunications system. This

system is expected to be used by all

participating hospitals by 1997,

resulting in reduced response time.

NNIS methodology, which has been

published, is the standard nosocomial

infection surveillance methodology and

is used at least in part by most U.S.

hospitals.

Respondents No. of respondents

No. of responses/respondentAvg. burden/

response (in

hours)

Hospitals ............................................................................................................................................. 251 12 0.16

The total burden hours is 481. Send

comments to Desk Officer, CDC; Human

Resources and Housing Branch, New

Executive Office Building, Room 10235;

Washington, DC 20503.

Dated: May 10, 1996.

[FR Doc. 96–12329 Filed 5–15–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4163–18–P

[Announcement Number 631]

National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health; Research and

Demonstration Grants

Introduction

The National Institute for

Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC) is

soliciting grant applications for research

and demonstration projects related to

occupational safety and health (see the

section ‘‘Availability of Funds’’).

CDC is committed to achieving the

health promotion and disease

prevention objectives of ‘‘Healthy

People 2000,’’ a national activity to

reduce morbidity and mortality and

improve the quality of life. This

announcement is related to the priority

area of Occupational Safety and Health.

(For ordering a copy of ‘‘Healthy People

2000,’’ see the section ‘‘Where to Obtain

Additional Information’’.)

Authority

This program is authorized under the

Public Health Service Act, as amended,

Section 301 (42 U.S.C. 241); the

Occupational Safety and Health Act of

1970, Section 20(a) (29 U.S.C. 669); and

the Federal Mine Safety and Health

Amendments Act of 1977, as amended,

Section 501 (30 U.S.C. 951). The

applicable program regulations are in 42

CFR Part 52.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include domestic

and foreign non-profit and for-profit

organizations, universities, colleges,

research institutions, and other public

and private organizations, including

State and local governments and small,

minority and/or woman-owned

businesses. Exceptions: Applicants for

the Special Emphasis Research Career

Award (SERCA) Grant and Small Grant

programs must be citizens or persons

lawfully admitted to the United States

for permanent residence (resident alien)

at the time of application and must be

employed by a domestic institution.

Smoke-Free Workplace

CDC strongly encourages all grant

recipients to provide a smoke-free

workplace and to promote the non-use

of all tobacco products, and Public Law

103–227, the Pro-Children Act of 1994,

prohibits smoking in certain facilities

that receive federal funds and in which

education, library, day care, health care,

and early childhood development

services are provided to children.

Availability of Funds

For fiscal year (FY) 1996, the budget

is projected to be $10,000,000. Of that

amount, $7,000,000 is committed to

support 47 non-competing continuing

awards. Therefore, $3,000,000 is

available for new and competing

renewal awards. The overall budget

includes $400,000 for Small Business

Innovation Research grant awards, of

which $237,000 is already committed to

a non-competing continuation award. In

addition, this overall budget includes

funds for a special emphasis on

construction health and safety research.