CHAIR 2021 Leadership Award Winner ? Dr. Victor Leung

TORONTO, June 21, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Since 2014, CHAIR, the Coalition for Community and Healthcare Acquired Infection Reduction, has recognized the leadership of an individual or organization passionate about reducing acquired infections through engineered infection prevention technologies.

CHAIR is pleased to select Dr. Victor Leung as the 2021 CHAIR Leadership Award recipient. Dr. Leung is the Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Control and the Physician Lead of Antimicrobial Stewardship at Providence Health Care (PHC) in Vancouver, BC.

More information on Dr. Leung can be found here: https://www.providencelaboratory.com/staff_leung.php

"CHAIR acknowledges Dr. Leung's leadership in recognizing the airborne nature of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and his advocacy, education, and implementation of engineered infection prevention mitigation strategies to reduce airborne hospital-associated infections," said Barry Hunt, cofounder of CHAIR.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of engineered solutions in Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC). I strongly believe that if we are to make advances in IPAC, we need to work with engineers to identify and help implement tested and impactful engineered solutions to mitigate the risk of transmission.  COVID-19 has made it abundantly clear that we need to pay attention to cleaning the air," said Dr. Leung upon receiving his award.

Some of the highlights that led to this decision include:

• Installation of portable HEPA / UV filters in multi-bedded rooms
• Relocating CoVID positive LTC patients to well-ventilated hospital rooms to reduce the likelihood of transmission and outbreak
• Acknowledging and promoting newfound recognition of the airborne nature of CoVID on social media, including Twitter
• Public education of airborne transmission and mitigation strategies through participation and leadership in webinars
• Education of airborne transmission and mitigation strategies to IPAC Canada Environmental Hygiene Interest Group
  

"This is the eighth year this distinguished award has been presented and, without question, this year's award is being given to the worthiest person who has accomplished so much in his career to keep both the general public and the most vulnerable healthcare patients safe," said Richard Dixon, cofounder of CHAIR Canada.

For 2022 CHAIR has a new Vision: "Safe Spaces, free from pathogens," and a new Mission: "Inspire and guide research-based engineered solutions."  

"Dr. Leung's work during the pandemic truly aligns him with our vision and mission," said Steve Reinecke, Executive Director of CHAIR. "We thank Dr. Leung for his contribution to reducing infections and look forward to following him in his future accomplishments."

About CHAIR.

CHAIR is a coalition of members working on promoting and introducing engineered solutions to reduce Community and Healthcare Infections. CHAIR was formed in 2014 with the original goal of supporting the creation of a safe healthcare environment for patients, staff, and visitors by achieving an 80% reduction in healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) by 2024. The coalition has recently revised its vision and mission and developed a new strategic roadmap (2022-2024). It seeks to have a more significant impact on reducing community and healthcare-acquired infections by building awareness and facilitating the application of engineered solutions (air, water, and surface).

For further information:
Steve Reinecke
[email protected] 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/90f02aa0-e8fb-4ba7-bd79-51ed4b44ccc6