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38 ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE & STEWARDSHIP IDSA names 25 hospitals Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence By Anuja Vaidya T he Infectious Diseases Society of America designated 25 U.S. healthcare organizations as Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence. Established in 2017, the designation program "recognizes insti- tutions that have created stewardship programs led by infectious diseases physicians and ID-trained pharmacists that are of the high- est quality and have achieved standards established by the CDC," according to IDSA. e 25 organizations are: • Barnes-Jewish Hospital (St. Louis) • Children's Hospital of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) • Cleveland Clinic • Denver Health Medical Center • Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center • Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford (Palo Alto, Calif.) • Montefiore Medical Center (New York City) • Montefiore New Rochelle (N.Y.) Hospital • NewYork Presbyterian Hospital-University Hospital of Columbia and Cornell (New York City) • Orlando (Fla.) Regional Medical Center • Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center • Roper St. Francis Hospital (Charleston, S.C.) • Rose Medical Center (Denver) • Rush University Medical Center (Chicago) • Saint Joseph Hospital (Lexington, Ky.) • South Nassau Communities Hospital (Oceanside, N.Y.) • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, Tenn.) • Tus Medical Center (Boston) • UCLA Health • University Medical Center-New Orleans • University Medical Center-Texas (Lubbock) • UPMC Presbyterian-Shadyside, Presbyterian Campus (Pittsburgh) • University of Wisconsin Hospital (Madison) • Virginia Commonwealth University Health (Richmond) • Womack Army Medical Center (Ft. Bragg, N.C.) Last year, IDSA recognized Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., and Summa Health of Akron, Ohio, as the first recipients of the designation. n Paper towels spread less bacteria than air hand dryers in hospital bathrooms, study finds By Anuja Vaidya A study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection found bacterial contamination was lower in wash- rooms where paper towels were used for hand drying than in washrooms where jet air dryers were used. The study examined hand-drying methods in hospital washrooms and whether they contributed to the risk of bacterial contamination in the hospital environment. Researchers analyzed bacterial contamination levels in washrooms where hand drying occurred either via paper towels or jet air dryers. They studied 120 sampling sessions over a 12-week period in three hospitals. The hospitals were in the United Kingdom, France and Italy. Total bacterial recovery was significantly greater from jet air dryer surfaces versus paper towel dispenser surfaces at all sites. In the U.K., methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus recovery was three times more frequent and sixfold higher for jet air dryer versus paper towel surfaces. Addi- tionally, methicillin-resistant S. aureus recovery was three times more frequent from jet air dryer versus paper towel surfaces or floors. In France, ESBL-producing bacteria were recovered from dust twice as often during jet air dryer use compared to paper towel use. Bacterial contamination in washrooms in Italy was signifi- cantly lower than in bathrooms in France and the U.K. "Hand-drying method affects the risk of [airborne] dis- semination of bacteria in real world settings," the study authors wrote. n