The end of the beginning...

...or the beginning of the end? I want to thank Dan and Mike for inviting me to join the blog. I have always enjoyed reading and occasionally commenting on their posts. This is an exciting time for infection prevention/control. For instance, the new bill (H.R. 3590) currently winding its way through the Senate contains specific language concerning AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety that requires research around practical methods to control HAIs including MRSA, VRE and other emerging infections and building capacity for patient safety research. It even authorizes appropriation of $20 million for FY 2010-2014. Given that MRSA alone is associated with 18,000 deaths/year in the US, while antibacterial resistance gets only a small proportion of the $200 million devoted to antimicrobial resistance (antiviral, anti-malarial, anti-TB and antibacterial) by NIH , more funding is desperately needed. So, as awareness and research funding increase we will have more to write about and can finally move forward from what I call the "absence of evidenced based medicine."

In the end, I hope I'm up to the task and high standards Mike and Dan have set and this is the end of the beginning. Perhaps someday we will be able to steal a phrase from Jay-Z and can say "99 problems but MRSA ain't one"