 revised and approved by council voting representatives on november 17 2023 i history and purpose in 2015 the centers for disease control and preventions division of healthcare quality promotion cdc dhqp funded the association of state and territorial health officials astho and the council of state and territorial epidemiologists cste to create and co chair the council for outbreak response healthcare associated infections hai and antimicrobial resistant ar pathogens corha and serve as founding members hais including ar pathogens cause hundreds of thousands of illnesses and deaths among u s patients each year consistent and coordinated approaches are needed to speed up detection of new threats develop tools to support outbreak investigation stop outbreaks from spreading and better inform prevention activities the council will work to build capacity for public health and healthcare to improve outbreak detection response and prevention ii mission to improve practices and policies at the local state and national levels for detection investigation control and prevention of hai ar outbreaks across the healthcare continuum including emerging infections and other risks with potential for healthcare transmission iii vision public health and healthcare collaborating effectively to protect patients and prevent harms from hai ar outbreaks iv membership in corha member organizations include the following categories founding member organizations are cdc dhqp astho cste and the national association of county and city health officials naccho founding member organizations form the corha governance committee see section v 2 and do not have membership term limits stakeholder member organizations serve four year terms on corha and the governance committee votes to renew the four year term of each member organization federal partner liaison member organizations include federal agencies invited to participate on corha in a non voting member capacity federal partner liaison member organizations serve four year terms on corha and the governance committee votes to renew the four year term of their membership individual members of corha include the following categories voting members refers to the formal voting representatives identified by founding member organizations and stakeholder member organizations non voting federal liaisons refers to the primary and alternate representatives from federal partner liaison member organizations e g cms fda non voting workgroup members refers to all workgroup members workgroup members should have an association with founding member organizations stakeholder member organizations or federal partner liaison member organizations v corhas organizational structure corhas organizational structure includes organizations professional associations and other agencies that have an active interest in delivering safe healthcare and promoting patient safety full council corha the council refers to the assembly of founding member organizations stakeholder member organizations and federal partner liaison member organizations as defined in section iv each member organization designates one individual to serve as their representative on corha the number and specific mix of member organizations are approved for addition or subtraction from corha through action by the governance committee the governance committee the governance committee is comprised of representatives from corhas founding member organizations cdc dhqp astho cste and naccho each of which appoints an individual representative as described in section vi below workgroups and committees see section viii below for more information vi corha voting representatives and responsibilities each corha member organization as defined in section iv designates one individual to serve as a voting representative on corha the following exceptions apply corha co chair organizations astho and cste will each have three voting representatives on the council one of whom will be designated to serve as co chair on the governance committee founding member organizations that are not co chairs naccho and cdc dhqp will each have two voting representatives on the council one of whom will be designated to serve on the governance committee federal partner liaison member organizations will each have a formally designated representative and an alternate representative but they will participate in a non voting capacity corha voting representatives will have a strong scientific background knowledge of hai outbreak and response extensive knowledge of the organization they represent understanding of hai policy issues and be dedicated to the mission and vision of corha corha voting representative responsibilities include supporting and implementing the decisions of the governance committee approving modifications to the corha bylaws approving the addition of organizations to add to covered membership approving changes to corhas vision mission or strategic map participating in and or providing support and guidance to corha workgroups participating in in person meetings and quarterly member conference calls providing feedback on corha initiatives reviewing approving and voting on corha developed products disseminating and promoting final and approved corha products a casting votes and quorum regarding corha covered business action a quorum must be established with a simple majority of the total number of voting representatives for a vote to occur each voting representative may cast one vote for an action to be considered approved the total number of affirmative votes must be equal to the simple majority of the total number of voting representatives if a voting representative knows in advance that he she will not be present for a vote that member may designate a proxy from the same member organization to vote on his or her behalf corha developed products requiring approval and a vote will follow the processes and guidelines outlined in the corha workgroup to publication process corha voting representatives will be responsible for obtaining the appropriate level of input from their respective organizations during open review periods b meeting attendance and participation the council will strive to meet quarterly including two in person meetings per year e g once in the spring summer and once in the fall winter with intervening meetings occurring via video or teleconference in person meetings are subject to availability of council funds if a voting representative is unable to represent their organization at quarterly meeting they or their member organizations should propose an alternate notification of all proposed alternates must be sent to the council co chairs and the meeting planning staff as soon as possible prior to the meeting or call alternates should have a strong scientific background knowledge of hai outbreak and response extensive knowledge of their member organization they represent and understanding of hai outbreak policy issues and corha vii corha governance committee responsibilities the corha governance committee is responsible for providing overall guidance for corha one representative from each of the four founding member organizations astho cdc dhqp cste naccho serves on the governance committee governance committee members are appointed by the organizations they represent and have relevant leadership and management experience if a governance committee member is no longer able to serve on the governance committee the sponsoring organization will present another candidate for consideration the governance committee strives to make decisions by consensus but when consensus is not clear a vote will be conducted each governance committee member will have one vote and a decision must be approved by at least three fourths of governance committee members corha governance committee responsibilities include approving changes to corhas vision mission and strategic map providing strategic direction for corha introducing prioritizing and maintaining a list of proposed corha projects for consideration providing guidance on policy legal and financial matters of corha approving new corha processes and all internal and external facing documents bearing the corha logo suggesting vetting and approving member organizations to be voted upon by corha approving four year term renewals for additional member organizations approving federal liaison member organizations approving corha voting representatives and workgroup members approving the creation scope and goals of workgroups providing guidance to corha workgroups committees and other initiatives inviting voting representatives their alternates selected non voting representatives or subject matter experts to corha meetings promoting and representing corha at public events responding to media requests for corha granting permission to persons and organizations who wish to make presentations announcements to or on behalf of corha attending corha meetings and conference calls providing resolution if conflicts arise with member organizations advocating for corha corha workgroups and committees corha workgroups and committees will be formed to address specific short or long term projects as approved by the corha governance committee corha workgroups will be led by a chair and a co chair one of whom should be a current corha voting representative if corha voting representatives do not volunteer to serve in these roles the governance committee will consider an alternate designee individual workgroup members may be identified and recommended by corha voting representatives and the governance committee workgroup members will have a strong scientific background knowledge of hai outbreak and response and be dedicated to the mission and vision of corha the governance committee will consider approving the inclusion of workgroup members who do not represent a corha member organization on the advice of the workgroup co chairs when this is deemed necessary to expand the subject matter expertise and perspectives represented in the workgroup 