St. Charles Health System is one of 14 institutions across the nation to earn the Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence designation by the Infectious Diseases Society of America in 2025. The honor recognizes institutions that have created stewardship programs led by infectious disease-trained physicians and pharmacists that advance science in antimicrobial resistance.
“Very few hospitals have gotten this award, and it shows that we are going above and beyond to fulfill our goal of preventing the emergence of resistant organisms,” said Todd Berger, antimicrobial stewardship pharmacist for St. Charles. “I think this honor shows that we are doing really good work at St. Charles and it feels good to see our efforts recognized.”
Berger and Dr. Cynthia Maree, pictured above, chair the antimicrobial stewardship program for St. Charles, which started about five years ago. The goal is to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics, which can create resistant strains of organisms. Berger and Maree helped develop evidence-based treatment pathways for clinicians to follow for patients with certain illnesses that define appropriate antibiotic selection, dose and duration.
“A lot of what we do is education, for patients and for providers,” said Berger. “Our goal is for everyone to have confidence in the work we are doing and the treatment patients are receiving.”
The core criteria for the Center of Excellence program place emphasis on an institution’s ability to implement stewardship protocols by integrating best practices to slow the emergence of resistance, optimize the treatment of infections, reduce adverse events associated with antibiotic use and address other challenging areas related to antimicrobial stewardship. St. Charles submitted an application to receive the designation, which was reviewed by a panel of IDSA member experts in antimicrobial stewardship.
