Melony Hosford, PharmD, a Pharmacist with Spalding Regional Medical Center, spoke to more than 150 peers at a meeting of the Georgia Society for Health-System Pharmacists (GSHP) on July 24, on the topic of antimicrobial stewardship.

Antimicrobial stewardship is a hot topic right now; not unlike most hospitals in the United States, Spalding Regional Medical Center is faced with the ever-increasing task of effectively treating patients presenting with multi drug-resistant organisms.

The hospital took on the mission of delving into the topic by implementing a team consisting of pharmacists, infection control practitioners, nursing staff, administration, medical staff and lab personnel. In an ongoing effort, the team has begun a process that continually assesses and evaluates the utilization of antibiotics in every prescribing situation.

“The hospital pharmacist(s) can definitely play a major role in assisting the physician with safe and effective use of antimicrobials (antibiotics),” says Hosford. “We are stepping up our efforts to preserve the arsenal of drugs currently available for use.”

As one of the few hospitals in the region on the forefront of such programs, Hosford was invited to speak about the programs currently in place at Spalding Regional.

Spalding Regional Medical Center, part of Tenet Healthcare, is a 160-bed acute care hospital located at 601 South Eighth Street in Griffin, Ga. The hospital has been serving the medical and health care needs of Spalding, Butts, Clayton, Fayette, Henry, Lamar and Pike counties for more than 100 years. Spalding Regional provides a number of services, including specialties in orthopedics, women’s services, cardiac care, oncology services, physical, occupational and speech therapy and sleep medicine. Spalding Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.