The McKnight Prize for
Healthcare Outbreak Heroes Award was established to encourage and honor those
who serve and protect patients from harm in the context of healthcare
outbreaks. The recipient will receive a $1,000 honorarium and an award
presented at the annual APIC conference in San Antonio, TX, June 3-5, 2024.
Awardee attendance is requested.
Special Notes:
- Please be as detailed as possible within the word limits.
- This prize recognizes heroic contributions to healthcare
outbreaks; these differ from community outbreaks in that medical care is the
main driver of exposures and infections.
- Healthcare‐associated Infections (HAIs), including antimicrobial‐resistant (AR) pathogens, can manifest as outbreaks—sometimes with large numbers of cases—that stem from unsafe healthcare practices and contaminated drugs or medical devices. More information, including examples of healthcare outbreaks, is available at www.corha.org and www.cdc.gov/hai/outbreaks.
- The award committee is primarily interested in recognizing individuals; under special circumstances, consideration may be given to groups or institutions.
- Nomination submissions may include links to reports or publications related to the nominee's role in the outbreak response may be included, but please limit to no more than two additional items and assure that these are directly pertinent to the nomination.
- To help illustrate impacts, please include compelling anecdotes and numbers or metrics, if available (such as patients or healthcare facilities served or impacted).
- The McKnight Heroes Prize Jury may request additional information if necessary, such as a curriculum vitae or other supporting documents, following submission of your nomination.
- See FAQs at the bottom of the form.
Primary Award Criteria: Please submit an example within the last two years (2022-2023) of how the nominee personally displayed:
Extra weight may be given to submissions that describe nominees who have personally displayed:
Exceptional leadership in enhancing communication between clinicians, clinics, hospitals, public health offices etc. and affected patients or the public, in the context of a healthcare outbreak investigation.
Active, sustained involvement in patient safety, healthcare, or public health, resulting in recent advancements related to basic infection control (e.g., safe injection practices), healthcare outbreak reporting and investigation, or patient notification and public disclosure practices.