Foothill Regional Medical Center Infection Control Expert Receives Top National Honor

Orange County's Shahbaz Salehi Named Infection Control Today's 2024 Educator of the Year

TUSTIN, Calif., Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Shahbaz Salehi, MPH, MSHIA, director, infection control, at Foothill Regional Medical Center, has been named the 2024 Educator of the Year by Infection Control Today, a national leader in infection control.

"The 2024 Infection Control Today Educator of the Year award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated exceptional passion and dedication to educating others, empowering them to drive positive change, and achieving meaningful outcomes through their efforts," said Tori Whitacre Martonicz, senior editor, Infection Control Today. "Among many outstanding nominations from infection prevention and control professionals, one name stood out unanimously. ICT proudly honors Shahbaz Salehi as the 2024 Educator of the Year."

Judges for the award are all experts and leaders in the field of infection control, editorial advisory board members, and infection control professionals.

"We are proud of Shahbaz and congratulate him on this outstanding accomplishment," said Araceli Lonergan, CEO of Foothill Regional Medical Center. "This prestigious honor reflects his unwavering dedication to the highest standard of excellence in infection control and embodies the values of our organization."

Salehi's many contributions to infection education include teaching Infection Control in a Hospital Setting at the University of California Los Angeles Extension, one of the few U.S. infection control certificate programs; acting as subject matter expert for universities to review their public health courses and evaluate their sepsis training; and reviewing and analyzing the certification and exam questions for the Healthcare Sterile Processing Association (HSPA), the premier association representing medical and surgical sterile processing.

"I am honored to receive this award," said Salehi. "Education is the foundation of meaningful change, and I am grateful for the opportunity to inspire and equip others to lead in public health and infection control."

Through their rigorous dedication to infection prevention, Salehi and Foothill Regional's nursing leadership have helped the hospital gain national recognition for being among the top 10% of hospitals in the U.S. to achieve a zero-infection rate of clostridioides difficile (C. diff), according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Foothill Regional is the only full-service acute care hospital in Orange County to report no cases of the potentially life-threatening healthcare-associated infection (HAI) in CMS's latest survey.

About Foothill Regional Medical Center: Foothill Regional Medical Center is an acute care hospital with 177 beds, including 42 pediatric subacute beds. The hospital offers an expanded range of quality medical services and programs including general and specialized surgery, orthopedics and spine program, robotics surgery, nationally accredited weight-loss surgery program, paramedic-receiving emergency department, as well as other programs and services. Foothill Regional is part of Prospect Medical, which operates medical groups and 16 hospitals in six states. To learn more, visit FoothillRegionalMedicalCenter.com or call (714) 619-7700.

About Infection Control Today: Infection Control Today is an industry-leading multimedia platform for infection control and infection prevention professionals featuring breaking news, expert-driven editorial content, conference coverage, video interviews and much more. For those seeking to reduce infection in an institution, only Infection Control Today continually sets the standard by delivering practical information to more diverse stakeholders backed by a legacy of credibility.

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SOURCE Foothill Regional Medical Center; Infection Control Today