The Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers for Excellence (CoE) Program promotes excellence in antimicrobial use and combating antimicrobial resistance by recognizing hospitals that effectively demonstrate excellence in this work. Possessing a CoE designation signifies a hospital has the policies and processes in place to deliver high-quality stewardship services consistently, execute novel stewardship principles, and demonstrate a high-level commitment to improving antimicrobial use and reducing resistance.
The IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Center of Excellence designation offers numerous advantages for programs. Among these benefits are enhanced recognition for stewardship efforts, access to a supportive network of other IDSA Centers of Excellence, and the ability to uphold the standards required for regulatory compliance, as outlined in this resource guide. Programs aspiring to obtain this designation and those seeking renewal can utilize this guide to secure backing from hospital leadership.
The Centers of Excellence designation program aligns with evidence-based national guidelines such as the IDSA-SHEA guidelines and CDC's Core Elements of Hospital Antibiotic Stewardship Programs.
A total of 177 hospitals have received the designation since the program’s launch in 2017, including the United Arab Emirates and India. See the full list of CoE-designated hospitals.
Review the CDC Core Elements to ensure your hospital meets the program eligibility requirements.
Verify your hospital's enrollment and reporting to the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Antimicrobial Use and Resistance (AUR).
If your hospital meets the program criteria, submit an electronic application using the “Apply Now” button below.
Hospitals awarded the Centers of Excellence program designation will incur a $5,000 license fee for the 2-year designation.
Applications must be submitted by an active IDSA member.
The IDSA Antimicrobial Stewardship Centers of Excellence program is intended to recognize hospitals that implement and maintain highly effective ASPs. IDSA acknowledges that many hospitals are part of health systems; however, the CoE Core Criteria was developed to assess the resources and capabilities of a single hospital. The CoE designation will not apply to an entity that provides services that support, in whole or in part, the AS program of a hospital; therefore, each hospital is required to apply on an individual hospital basis and subject to separate licensing fees.
