CASE (Carolinas Antimicrobial Stewardship Effort) officially held their first conference in 2001. The CASE organization is comprised of medical professionals and public health officials from North and South Carolina and also the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), in Atlanta, GA. CASE members have come from the Carolina’s larger academic medical centers including Wake Forest University School of Medicine (NC), Medical University of South Carolina (SC), Duke Medical Center (NC), University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (NC), The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University (NC) and North and South Carolina’s Department of Public Health.
Members of CASE are the leaders and decision makers of the antimicrobial stewardship efforts in the Carolina’s. They collaborate information and ideas to establish the most effective and efficient standards for the antimicrobial stewardship effort. Members consist of: clinical microbiologist, infectious disease pharmacist, infectious disease health care providers (MD, PA and RN), infection control physicians and nurses, quality control hospital administrators, public health care officials (state and national) and pharmaceutical representatives whose companies are interested in the preservation of antibiotics and the development of new antibiotics to replace the ones which no longer are effective due to antibiotic resistance.
The first five CASE conferences attendance averaged approximately 30 to 35 attendees and was not a CME sponsored event. This year’s conference was the 6th Annual CASE Conference held in Greensboro, NC. The CASE planning committee, which is approximately 12 of the founders of the CASE organization, decided it was time to expand its efforts and reach out to community hospitals and medical facilities of both North and South Carolina who need to implement effective antimicrobial stewardship efforts in their facilities. Clinical rapid diagnostic vendors participated at this year’s conference. Vendors showcased the newest and most up to date rapid diagnostic tests and equipment being used in hospitals to diagnose bacterial and viral infections. A CME workshop was held on Friday afternoon before the evening guest speaker. This year’s attendance totaled 60 attendees and was a successful event. The 7th Annual CASE Conference will be held in Charleston, SC the weekend of February 9-10, 2007. For more information about the upcoming conference follow this link, http://www1.wfubmc.edu/id/case/CaseConference, or you may contact Michelle Wallis in the section of infectious disease at 336-716-6342or email: mwallis@wfubmc.edu, or Dr. Christopher Ohl at 336-716-4507.