Arizona Infection Control Expert Honored

Patricia J. Gray, an infection preventionist in Scottsdale, Arizona, will be honored with the 2020 President’s Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), according to a press release.

The award, which honors the work of Patricia Lynch as one of APIC’s pioneering members and its first national president, is given to an individual who has made major contributions to the infection prevention and control (IPC) profession through service within APIC.

“Patty has given so willingly of herself and her knowledge throughout her career and continues to provide distinguished service to APIC and the profession,” says Connie Steed, 2020 APIC president. “We are proud to honor her with this prestigious award.”

An active member of APIC for more than 25 years, Gray has served in her local Scottsdale community throughout her career, both as a previous network director in the HonorHealth health system and currently as an on-call consultant. Her contributions to the association have included president and legislative leader for the APIC Grand Canyon Chapter; member, vice chair, and chair of the national Public Policy Committee; member of the Regulatory Review Panel; and APIC representative to the National Quality Forum.

At both the state and national levels of government, Gray has advocated for IPC measures and recognition of the infection preventionist’s essential role in patient safety. During this time, Gray has drafted APIC comments to federal agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), as well as for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on issues including personal protective equipment (PPE), medical device reprocessing, health information technology, regulation of healthcare antiseptics, and quality reporting programs for Medicare payment for healthcare settings.