Flexing Your IPC Muscles in Acute Rehabilitation Facilities

Acute rehabilitation facilities can face unique IPC challenges because they typically see patients after an acute-care stay and often with histories of infectious disease diagnoses. In addition, patients typically share a large gym or other community room in their rehabilitation program. Join us for a discussion of how to approach some of these challenges, including dealing with ongoing diarrhea that interrupts therapy and considerations when balancing patient therapy needs with COVID-19 isolation protocols. Different facility types have different infection prevention and control (IPC) challenges and needs, and IPC experts are not always readily available. Yet IPC is everyone’s responsibility and is expected as standard of care. This is a live event that will occur on the date and time indicated above. Click the “Register Now” button above to proceed with event registration. If you cannot attend the live event, an on-demand recording will be available.

Leslie Rydberg, MD

Leslie Rydberg, MD, is a general physiatrist at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab with a primary clinical interest in electrodiagnostic medicine, medically complex rehabilitation, and neurorehabilitation. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Medical Education at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Rydberg served as Director of the COVID Rehabilitation Unit from 2002- 2023. She is the Henry and Monika Betts Medical Student Education Chair at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and is the Associate Residency Program Director for the Northwestern University PM&R Program.

Priya Mhatre, MD

Priya Mhatre, MD, is an attending physician at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Her clinical areas of focus include neurologic rehabilitation, cancer rehabilitation, and the rehabilitation of medically complex patients. She is involved in resident and medical student teaching and serves as the Assistant Director for Medical Student Education within the department of PM&R. She is also involved in healthcare quality and safety and serves as the Associate Chief Quality and Safety Officer at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab.

James Lewis, MD

James Lewis, MD, is the Health Officer for Snohomish County, WA, and is board certified in internal medicine, preventive medicine, and infectious disease and has a Master of Public Health with a focus in Epidemiology. He has been working in Public Health with a focus on healthcare associated infections for 7 years. He maintains adjunct/volunteer faculty appointments within the UNC School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases, the UNC Gilling’s School of Global Public Health, as well as the University of Washington School of Medicine in the Division of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Erica Kaufman West, MD

Erica Kaufman West, MD, completed her undergraduate degrees at Valparaiso University in Indiana. She received her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She finished her Internal Medicine residency and her chief resident year at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. She stayed to complete her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the West LA VA/Cedars-Sinai/Olive View-UCLA Medical Center program. She has been working in the Midwest since then, focusing on acute inpatient as well as outpatient care in HIV, Hepatitis C and wound care. She now works as the AMA’s Director of Infectious Diseases while maintaining her clinical practice.

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