SHEA Statement on HHS Reductions in Force

Protecting Americans from healthcare associated infections and antimicrobial resistance, two critical areas of patient safety, requires a strong, stable public health infrastructure. The loss of critical expertise and knowledge at the Department of Health and Human Services—our nation’s leading agency for safeguarding public health—poses a serious threat to infection prevention and antimicrobial stewardship efforts nationwide.

Slashing key personnel from HHS and its agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, directly weakens our ability to prevent healthcare associated infections and monitor antimicrobial resistance across the United States. These cuts will disrupt vital programs that stop outbreaks before they start and ensure communities remain protected from emerging health crises, like measles and H5N1, that public health is actively responding to right now in many communities.

We urge Congress to provide immediate oversight to assess the impact of these changes and ensure that core infection prevention and control functions remain intact across our public health systems both within HHS and at the state and local public health level.  America’s health depends on a fully resourced and expert-driven public health system.  While these cuts may not have an impact today, we believe that the long term impact will be detrimental to patient safety. 

• David J. Weber, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FSHEA, FRSM, SHEA 2025 President