February 4, 2009
Don Wright, MD, PhD
Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health
Office of Public Health and Science
US Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201
Dear Dr. Wright:
On behalf of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the American Association of Critical- Care Nurses (AACN), and the National Association for Medical Direction of Respiratory Care (NAMDRC), we congratulate the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on its work to establish a 5-year national prevention plan to reduce and, possibly eliminate, health-careassociated infections. As you know, our multidisciplinary and multispecialty societies include experts in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. As practicing clinicians we feel strongly that we have a responsibility to help develop these measures of accountability and facilitate their adoption by health-care institutions and practitioners. As the societies whose members care for the critically ill, we look forward to continuing our collaboration with HHS on these efforts.