NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jenny DesVaux Oakes
(702) 242-7155

Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness Partners Conference to feature Governor Kenny Guinn and CDC Program Director Pat Cook

Las Vegas, April 7, 2004 --- Nevadans for Antibiotic Awareness (NAA), a statewide public-private partnership dedicated to reducing inappropriate antibiotic use, will host a partners conference to discuss the status of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) nationwide initiative and NAA’s statewide campaign. Governor Kenny Guinn and Pat Cook, program director for the CDC, will speak at the conference. The conference, for NAA partners and invited guests, is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon on Friday, April 9, in the President’s Auditorium of Sierra Health Services at 2716 North Tenaya Way.

Governor Guinn, an active supporter of NAA since its origin, will offer recognition and commendation of NAA’s progress to date. Pat Cook, program director for the “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work” program for the CDC, is the featured speaker for the conference.

The NAA partnership currently numbers over 60 public and private sector organizations and agencies. Since its inception in 2002, NAA has implemented a multimedia advertising campaign, conducted statewide medical provider education programs, targeted school children with educational games and activities, coordinated data collection for microbiology reports from all hospitals and major laboratories in southern Nevada and developed and maintains an educational website.

More than 70 per cent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are already resistant to at least one of the antibiotic drugs most commonly used to treat infections,” said Bill Berliner, M.D., medical director, Health Insight, and executive director, NAA.

The CDC has identified the inappropriate use of antibiotics, resulting in antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as a significant worldwide public health problem. “Nevadans need to be made aware of the appropriate use of antibiotics to help prevent drug-resistant strains of bacteria from developing,” Berliner added.

Christine Petersen, VP and chief medical officer, Sierra Health Services, and chair, NAA public awareness committee, indicated that Nevada is one of more than 20 states to implement such a program. Initially funded through contributions from participating companies/agencies, NAA received a CDC grant of $57,000 through the State Health Division in June, 2003 which was renewed in March, 2004.

NAA has received some additional support from several non-healthcare companies. The major funding continues to be through the support of NAA partners that include physicians, microbiologists, pharmacists, nurses, healthcare facilities and companies and state and local health departments.

“Our message to the public is really quite simple,” said Petersen. “Take antibiotics for bacterial - not viral - lnfections. It is important that these potentially life-saving drugs be used only when appropriate and necessary so they will be effective when we need them.”

For more information on NAA, please call (702) 242-7148 or logon to the NAA website at WWW.NevadaAware.com.