The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

Dr Nikkiah Forbes has become the first Bahamian to be selected by the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) as an ambassador to facilitate infection prevention worldwide.

Dr Forbes is the director of the National HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Programme at the Bahamas Ministry of Health, a consultant in the infectious disease departments at the Princess Margaret Hospital and Doctors Hospital, and an associate lecturer at the University of the West Indies, School of Clinical Medicine and Research (SCMR).

She was selected to participate in SHEA's 2018 Spring conference last month, meeting and networking with other healthcare workers in the area of infectious diseases, collaborating and making plans to combat hospital-acquired infections.

The SHEA Spring Conference was held in Portland, Oregon and included a broad subject matter expertise in healthcare epidemiology, antibiotic stewardship, long-term care, research methods, clinical microbiology, patient safety and quality, implementation science, and a wide range of opportunities for networking and communication with peers and experts in the field.

The mission of SHEA is to promote the prevention of healthcare-associated infections and antibiotic resistance and to advance the fields of healthcare epidemiology and antibiotic stewardship.

One of the ways the organisation does this is through its annual award programme where 20 ambassadors are selected from countries outside of the United States.

"It was important for me to participate in this established programme as the first representative from the Bahamas. Awardees are selected annually. In 2018, 18 awardees were selected from various countries," said Dr Forbes.

"The SHEA International Ambassadors Programme is important to bring emerging leaders from around the world in the field of healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention to the United States for training, exposure to current science, and connections to the leaders in the field."

Since 2009, SHEA has partnered with 3M to benefit the international community of healthcare professionals dedicated to infection prevention through internships between US and international healthcare professionals with expertise in healthcare epidemiology and infection prevention.

In 2015, the programme was updated to allow more ambassadors to benefit from exposure to large US conferences dedicated to infection prevention and control.

"The impact of this programme within the ambassadors' regions as well as for SHEA's international network is significant and continues to evolve. Ambassadors have organised training courses and educational meetings addressing infection prevention and control and antimicrobial stewardship in India," said Dr Forbes.

"Ambassadors have collaborated on a variety of projects, including: outbreak investigation, educational programmes, development of professional networks within a country and research."

SHEA has welcomed 79 ambassadors representing 37 countries.