DR. LEONARD MERMEL has been honored with the 2016 Annual Milton Hamolsky Outstanding Physician Award from the staff of Rhode Island Hospital, where he serves as medical director of the hospital’s Department of Epidemiology & Infection Control.
After completing your residency, what influenced you to pursue a fellowship in infectious disease?
I was fascinated by infectious diseases. How do germs spread? Why do some people, but not others, get an infection after exposure to an infectious agent? That curiosity has also led me to ponder such issues beyond Earth. I’ve done some work at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, leading to an article I wrote about mitigating the risk of germs spreading among astronauts during prolonged space flight to Mars.
With high-profile diseases such as H1N1 and Ebola, what actions do you take in your own network to prevent their spread while quelling panic and the spread of false information?
Panic and fear result from a lack of preparation. So, thoughtful yet pragmatic preparation is key. Be it bird flu or Ebola, I have spent endless hours formulating infection-prevention and control strategies focused on reducing risk of such pathogens spreading in hospital settings. I have lectured at the Institute of Medicine about this issue and shared my insights with colleagues at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Much of your research has focused on preventing health care-associated or hospital-acquired infections. Do you feel that health care providers are doing enough to prevent the spread of disease cultivated behind their own doors?
We’ve implemented a number of infection-prevention interventions that have dramatically reduced risk to patients, however, the battle continues. Although changing behavior is difficult, we’ve certainly improved health care worker hand-hygiene practices and continue to educate them about removing invasive devices (e.g., catheters) as soon as they are no longer required for a patient’s care. These interventions unquestionably reduce risk of hospital-acquired infections. n