Of Roman Gods and a New Journal

In the Footsteps of the Gods: Janus Revisited and the Pursuit of Timeliness

“…Richard P. Wenzel and William A. Schaffner "introduced a new scientific journal that would focus on hospital epidemiology and all aspects of infection control." 1 ' 2 In less than a decade, Infection Control evolved to become the official journal of the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America (SHEA), renamed Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology (ICHE). 4 In 1993, Dr. Michael D. Decker assumed the helm.…”

Infection Control—A Progress Report

“…1 T h e bimonthly publication was a response to the needs of an increasing number of members of our discipline seeking current scientific information. In the interim, the Journal has made steady progress.…”

Putting the “all” in “safe health care for all”

“…In an editorial that appeared in the inaugural issue, Richard Wenzel and William Schaffner described the then-current state of knowledge in our field and the mission of the journal: “Our present knowledge is limited and our working assumption is that by rigorously addressing basic questions we may find truth. It is hoped that these pages will provide a vehicle for the testing of ideas and the emergence of new insights with practical applications.” 1 Over the 44 years that have passed since that was written, the fields of infection prevention, healthcare epidemiology, and antimicrobial stewardship (a term not yet coined in 1980) have made significant advancements. Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) measurement has become standard work for hospitals, and national metrics for HAIs now exist.…”