The Ahepan Summer 2020 - 11

G

AN AHEPAN AT THE FOREFRONT OF GREECE'S
COVID-19 RESPONSE

reece has received accolades from public health officials
and public servants from around the world for its response
to the coronavirus pandemic. AHEPA commends all parties responsible for Greece's control of the virus's spread to date
and for keeping fatalities to a minimum.
At the Ministry of Health of Greece, Ahepan Dr. Theoklis
Zaoutis is contributing vital work to the ministry's response in
an advisory role. He also has served as a ministry spokesperson
and as integral part of the ministry's outbreak management team.
During this time, Dr. Zaoutis has maintained his footing in the
United States as a professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and as a member
of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the Children's Hospital
of Philadelphia.
In 2011, Dr. Zaoutis founded the Center for Epidemiology and
Outcomes Research (CLEO) in Athens, Greece. CLEO's mission is
to improve patient safety and the quality of healthcare services
provided by Greek hospitals, with emphasis on the prevention
of hospital-acquired infections and the promotion of judicious
antibiotic use. With the pandemic, the importance of Dr. Zaoutis's
work, and the public's focus on it, increased significantly.
AHEPA is proud to support public health in Greece through
the work of Dr. Zaoutis, a member of Hercules-Spartan Chapter
26, Philadelphia, with a $30,000 grant to CLEO, Supreme
President George G. Horiates announced in May. The donation
will contribute to the development and implementation of an
on-the-ground training program for healthcare professionals
working in the newly established COVID-19 primary care centers and COVID-19-dedicated hospitals in Greece. Also, AHEPA's
donation will back time-sensitive and vital research on the
spread of COVID-19 in Greece through data collection analysis.
"AHEPA and the Greek diaspora are fortunate to have Dr.
Zaoutis serving the medical and public health profession during

this time of crisis, and AHEPA is proud to back his research,"
Horiates said.
"We were so impressed that Dr. Zaoutis would go to Greece
and fill this vital role," Horiates added. "He is one in an overwhelming series of examples of Ahepans who are dedicated professionals, essential service employees and volunteers worldwide
that are working for the public good. This strong desire to help
our communities is what makes AHEPA members special."
"AHEPA's assistance in these times has been absolutely a significant benefit to the public health," Dr. Zaoutis said. "I could not
be prouder to be involved in AHEPA."

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) and COVID-19
The rapid spread of the coronavirus, for which there is no known
treatment, has placed an unprecedented strain on healthcare systems
and healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide.
To date, the spread of COVID-19 in
Greece has been slower than elsewhere
in Europe, and Greece has so far managed to avoid the devastating toll the
virus has taken on nearby countries
Dr. Theoklis Zaoutis
such as Italy and Spain.
Given Greece's consistently poor record with respect to infection prevention and control (IPC) in healthcare facilities, the risk
of nosocomial transmission in the country is high. A 2014 study
of hand hygiene compliance at thirteen wards in two major
hospitals in Athens found extremely low levels of compliance,
with less than 25% of HCWs practicing proper hand hygiene.
Recent data from the European Centre for Disease Control and
Prevention (ECDC) show Greece has among the highest rates of
hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) in Europe, with as many as
one in ten patients admitted to a Greek hospital contracting an
infection during their stay. This urgent problem of HAIs dovetails
dangerously with the widespread misuse and overuse of antibiotics in Greece, which has some of the highest rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and multidrug-resistant infections in
Europe.
COVID-19 centers will also be set up in rural areas and on the
islands, where the existing training around IPC is likewise poor or
nonexistent. There is an urgent need for research into the nature
of the virus and its spread in Greece.

Research Project Objectives
The objectives of the research AHEPA is sponsoring at CLEO are:
*	 To train healthcare workers at Greece's COVID-19 centers.

www.ahepa.org	

Summer 2020 · THE AHEPAN

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The Ahepan Summer 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Ahepan Summer 2020
