HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGY IN SMALLER HOSPITALS

In hospitals with 200 to 300 beds, hospital epidemiologists serve prim arily as medical and epidemiology consultants to the infection control practitioners, as advocates for the infection control programs, and a s chairpersons of the infection control committees. Because smaller ho spitals often have limited resources for infection control, surveillan ce and control activities must focus on issues that have caused proble ms for the facility and on compliance with mandates and recommendation s made by healthcare agencies. The clinical microbiology laboratory pl ays an important role in ongoing surveillance activities and often is responsible for performing cultures obtained during point prevalence c ulture surveys or outbreak investigations. Because laboratory support often is limited, the indications for obtaining a culture from patient s, personnel, or the inanimate environment for infection control purpo ses must he reviewed and discussed carefully with the clinical laborat ory in advance (Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1995;16:600-606).