Horizon Health Honored for Safe and Effective Antibiotic Use

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) has commended Horizon Health for its exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to responsible antibiotic use.

Horizon Health earned Silver Status on the IDPH Acute Care Antimicrobial Stewardship Honor Roll, which recognizes hospitals that demonstrate excellence in evidence-based antimicrobial stewardship practices. Notably, 2025 marked the first year this award was offered.

“At Horizon Health, responsible antibiotic use is essential to protecting the health and safety of our patients and community,” said Rachel Kelley, Vice President of Nursing and Chief Nursing Officer. “By making thoughtful decisions about when and how these medications are used, we help ensure treatments remain effective for today’s patients and for future generations. This recognition reflects our ongoing commitment to safe, high-quality care and to doing what’s right for the people we serve.”

Of the 49 Silver Status recipients statewide, Horizon Health was one of only eight critical access hospitals to receive the honor, demonstrating excellence in the prioritized areas of leadership, accountability, action, and tracking.

“This award highlights our efforts to combat antibiotic resistance and ensure antibiotics are used safely, especially as we enter a time when resistant infections are becoming harder to treat. In some cases, we simply don’t have the drugs we need because of that resistance,” said Beth Keys, Horizon Health Pharmacy Manager and co-chair of the hospital’s Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee.

Responsible antibiotic use is vital, she said, because these medications can lose effectiveness when they are prescribed too frequently or without medical necessity. In such cases, bacteria and other germs can develop resistance to drugs designed to eliminate them.

Expanding Stewardship

Horizon Health plans to implement an infectious disease detection system called BioFire in its laboratory, which can quickly identify multiple viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens from a single patient sample. According to Dr. Darren Brucken, Horizon Health Chief Medical Officer and co-chair of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee, the system will enable more targeted treatments, improve antibiotic stewardship, and help reduce hospital stays.

“We’re looking at results within an hour compared to three days,” Dr. Brucken explained. “This system tests for a broad range of potential causes for a specific illness, such as pneumonia, gastrointestinal, or bloodstream infections. This will pinpoint the type of antibiotic that is needed.”

More to Come

The Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee plans to apply for IDPH Honor Roll Gold Status later this year as it continues its work to optimize antibiotic use, support appropriate prescribing practices, and reduce antibiotic resistance.

To support this goal, the group is working to ensure appropriate antibiotic use for sepsis by monitoring, evaluating, and reporting prescribing practices to physicians. In addition, Beth Keys and Dr. Brucken plan to obtain antimicrobial stewardship certification this spring.