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Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
University of Illinois at Chicago
Disclosure(s): No financial relationships to disclose
Dr. Bleasdale is the acting Chief Quality Office and physician lead for infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship at the University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System (UIH). In administrative roles, she directs initiatives to reduce infections, multidrug resistant organisms (MDROs), and improve antimicrobial prescribing. Dr. Bleasdale has helped lead significant UIH improvements in central line associated blood stream infections, catheter associated urinary tract infections, surgical site infections, and sepsis. She has helped UIH achieve the Infectious Disease Society of America Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence designation. She has led COVID-19 response for UIH, the UIC campus, and assisted the University of Illinois system. She has provided expertise to the Illinois Department of Public Health in COVID-19 response as well.
In research, she was the lead investigator for one of the first studies of chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) use to reduce blood stream infections. Current research activity is related to the study of interventions to reduce infections and improve antibiotic stewardship, and antimicrobial clinical trials. Dr. Bleasdale is a lead investigator for a study to reduce surgical site infections as part of the CDC Epicenters for Prevention of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs). Prior Epicenter work studied the transmission of HAIs via healthcare workers and the effective use of personal protective equipment to prevent transmission. In addition, she is currently working on inpatient and ambulatory antimicrobial stewardship interventions. Her clinical practice is general infectious disease and HIV care.
She has activities related to infectious disease policy, advocacy, and guidelines through leadership roles in the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. In these roles, she has contributed through solicited comment and advisory roles for regulations, coding and conditions of participation from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and The Joint Commission. She is the current chair of the IDSA Clinical Affairs Committee.