UCI Health, infectious disease expert recognized by Greater Irvine Chamber
Academic health system, Dr. Susan Huang honored for excellence, innovation
January 31, 2025
UCI Health infectious disease expert Dr. Susan Huang and Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph Carmichael at the Greater Irvine Chamber Excellence in Healthcare & Innovation Awards.
Orange, Calif. — UCI Health and nationally recognized infectious disease physician-scientist Dr. Susan Huang were recently celebrated at the Greater Irvine Chamber Excellence in Healthcare & Innovation Awards.
Huang earned the Lifetime Achievement Award for her transformative infection prevention research and leadership. UCI Health was honored for Excellence in Health Systems with Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President Dr. Joseph Carmichael accepting the award for UCI Health.
Transforming care delivery, access
As the only academic health system serving the diverse population of Orange and parts of Los Angeles counties, UCI Health is transforming medicine and expanding access to care throughout the region.
In March 2024, UCI Health completed the purchase of four hospitals, UCI Health ― Fountain Valley, UCI Health ― Lakewood, UCI Health ― Los Alamitos and UCI Health ― Placentia Linda, as well as their associated ambulatory locations, creating the UCI Health Community Network.
With the acquisition, UCI Health is now a 1,317-bed health system that is one of the largest in the state.
The flagship UCI Medical Center in Orange plays a critical healthcare role in the region, offering a higher level of care for the most complex conditions. It is the home of the only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center based in Orange County. It also has Orange County’s only Level I Trauma center, level II pediatric trauma center, primary stroke center, gold level 1 geriatric emergency department, regional burn center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and adult hemopoietic stem cell transplant program.
It is a nationally recognized leader in care that is high-quality and safe for patients, being among just 10% of U.S. hospitals to receive five Magnet designations for exceptional nursing. The medical center is also ranked as one of the nation’s top 10 academic medical centers for high-quality care by Vizient Inc.
UCI Medical Center, UCI Health — Fountain Valley, UCI Health — Lakewood and UCI Health — Los Alamitos have also been recognized by the American Heart Association for excellence in stroke, hypertension, heart failure and type 2 diabetes treatments.
UCI Health leads more than 500 cancer-related clinical trials, more than any other health system in the region, including novel early-phase studies that give patients access to potential new therapies before they are available to the public. In the summer of 2024, the clinical space for cancer care tripled with the opening of the innovative UCI Health Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center and Ambulatory Care building on the UCI Health ― Irvine campus.
UCI Health will continue its growth with the opening of a 144-bed acute care hospital at UCI Health ― Irvine later this year and the UCI Health Rehabilitation Hospital, a 52-bed inpatient facility, opening in 2026.
Trailblazing infectious disease expert
Huang is among the nation’s leading clinicians and researchers in the field of infection prevention and combating multidrug-resistant organisms. She is responsible for developing infection prevention protocols that have been implemented locally and nationally to protect the lives of patients.
Specializing in the prevention of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals and nursing homes, her research has been developed into protocols that have been adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Orange County Health Care Agency and health institutions across the nation.
Huang is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The council advises the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services on strategies to combat antimicrobial resistance.
In 2023, Huang and her colleagues published two landmark studies related to reducing healthcare-associated infections. Their findings, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, show that using a simple bathing routine to clean the skin with an over-the-counter antiseptic soap and a nasal ointment prevents serious infections and reduces the number of antibiotic-resistant organisms in nursing homes by nearly one third.
Huang's contributions to the field extend to several other landmark studies and trials, including the REDUCE MRSA Trial and the ABATE Infection Trial, which have significantly influenced infection prevention protocols in healthcare settings nationwide.
Related stories
Find on-demand care at UCI Health using our On Demand Care Finder ›