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Change and Constancy

Founded by Dr. Richard Wenzel in 1980, the journal Infection Control prospered under his careful guidance. In 1988, it became the official journal of the Society for Hospital Epidemiology of America and was retitled Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. This affiliation benefited both the Society and the Journal, and has seen each grow in size, stature, and influence over the intervening half-decade. Buttressed by his success as the founder of one highly successful medical journal, Dick has elected to resign as editor of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology in order to launch a new journal, Clinical Performance and Quality Health Care. Robyn Hepker will remain with Dick at the University of Iowa as managing editor of his new journal. Their talents, energy, and leadership assure success for their new endeavor. I know I speak for all of us in extending to them our deepest thanks and our best wishes. As of January 1, 1993, the editorial home of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology has moved to Vanderbilt University. I am honored to have been selected by the Society to serve as editor, and at the same time humbled by the challenge to maintain and improve the quality of an already excellent journal. The occasion of naming a new editor provides an opportunity to evaluate anew the role and direction of the Journal and to consider how to move it to new levels of excellence. As the official journal of our Society, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology is the principal vehicle through which the Society seeks to advance the science of hospital epidemiology and the interests of hospital epidemiologists. The field of hospital epidemiology is vibrant and growing. We face many new challenges in infection control (and, alas, some old challenges revisited), while at the same time changes and initiatives elsewhere in the hospital increasingly call on our skills and expertise. Our agenda for the Journal is simple: Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology should be recognized as the premier journal of hospital epidemiology, in all its facets. The Journal will continue its strong focus on infection control, while at the same time following the injunction to "reach beyond nosocomial infections to the rates, distributions, preventive measures, and cost benefit studies of all adverse events in patie ts"' by soliciting contributions reflecting the full range of hospital epidemiology. If you examine the masthead at the front of the Journal, you will see evidence of change and of constancy. Both are represented in the new Editorial Committee, based in Nashville; many of its members have longstanding ties to the Journal. This Committee will provide ongoing editorial and strategic guidance to the Journal. The Editorial and International Advisory Boards reflect strength and diversity; the Section Editors reliably contribute material that is timely and pertinent. Changes in these areas will be incremental and will reflect opportunities to develop new areas of interest to the readership and to involve additional talented individuals in the life of the Journal. We are developing a number of new sections that we hope to unveil during the course of this year, and we welcome your suggestions regarding useful section topics. In addition, if you are not currently on our panel of reviewers but would like to be, please write me outlining your areas of interest. I know that if the Journal is to continue to grow in size and influence over the next decade, it largely will be due to the skills of the Associate and Section editors and the Editorial Boards, and, in particular, to the continued interest and support shown by you, the readership. This is the forum in which we who work in hospital epidemiology speak to each other of our discoveries and our concerns. Share with us your experiences and let us know how well we are meeting your needs. I look forward to working with you to present our thoughts and efforts through the voice of our Journal.