Infection Control and Safety Committee

The Infection Control and Safety Committee (ICSC) combines the responsibilities of the Institutional Biosafety and the Infectious and Environmental Hazards Committees. The Division of Infectious Diseases and the Environmental Health & Safety Office (EHSO) act as the facilitators of the ICSC. The ICSC Operating Document will be reviewed and revised annually or at any time deemed necessary by the committee.  Additional iformation for ICSC can be found on our intranet page.

Areas of Responsibility

The ICSC is responsible for acting on behalf of the Dean and Provost in all facilities owned and operated by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (SIU-SOM), Springfield, Illinois. The scope of the ICSC is:

• Oversight of the School’s compliance for hazardous chemical, biological agents, and recombinant DNA regulations,
• Prevention of employee, student and visitor injuries or exposure to chemical or infectious agents,
• Infectious disease prevention in the campus community,
• Health screening and vaccination of students and new employees, and
• Other topics that relate to safety and health of personnel.

The ICSC has the authority to conduct inspections, investigations, and abate imminent hazards to ensure the health and safety of the occupants of School of Medicine facilities. The ICSC is also charged with oversight of compliance with regulatory agencies, including safety training requirements.

Submitting Hazardous Materials Use Applications

Completed applications must be submitted to an EHSO member a minimum of two weeks prior to the next meeting to ensure inclusion in the agenda. Applications submitted within two weeks of the meeting may be included at the discretion of the committee chairman, depending on availability.

Safety Training

The ICSC is responsible for the development of health and safety protocols and procedures that are compliant with regulatory requirements. As such, the committee monitors changes in regulations and reviews and revises the School's plans to ensure compliance with current mandates. The committee assists departments/units/supervisors by developing and providing basic safety training for new employees and medical students, and refresher training as needed, for existing employees. Training requirements are applied based on the School of Medicine's written plans and procedures. Supervisors provide their employees additional role- and location-specific safety training.

New employee safety training is provided in person and online during the employee's first week of hire. Mandatory annual refresher safety training is provided on the School's learning managment system HealthStream. Click on this link to access HealthStream.

Contact Information: