Executive Committee

The primary role of the executive committee is to provide guidance to the Houston Health Department on multidrug-resistant organisms detection and response and may advise the Healthcare-Associated Infections program as needed.

Meeting structure/Schedule

  • Dr. Mayar Al Mohajer, MD MBA CAQ FACP, Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center
  • Dr. Arafat, previous Assistant Director of the Houston Health Department and the Director of the Office of Surveillance and Public Health Preparedness; currently public health consultant
  • Dr. Cesar A. Arias, Professor of Medicine, Microbiology and Molecular Genetics and Director of Center for Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Genomics with UT Health
  • Dr. Robert Atmar, Chief of Infectious Diseases, Ben Taub General Hospital
  • Dr. Michael Fischer
  • Dr. Natalie Finch
  • Dr. Kevin Garey, Professor at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Translational Research
  • Dr. Kristi Kuper, Senior Clinical Manager of Infectious Diseases for Vizient
  • Dr. Charlene Offiong, HAI Coordinator for the Houston Health Department
  • Dr. Louis Ostrosky-Zeichner, Vice Chair for Healthcare Quality for the Department of Medicine; Director of the Laboratory of Mycology Research at the Division of Infectious Diseases, and Medical Director for Epidemiology for Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center.
  • Dr. Debra L. Palazzi
  • Dr. Ardath K. Plauche
  • Dr. Susan Purcell
  • Dr. Maria C Rodriguez-Barradas, MD, Chief, Infectious Diseases Section, Michael E. DeBakey VAMC
  • Dr. Ed Septimus with the Therapeutics Research and Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
  • Dr. Barbara Trautner, Director of Clinical Research at Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery/Baylor College of Medicine
  • Firas R. Zabaneh, MT (ASCP), CIC, CIE, MBA, Manager, System Infection Prevention & Control System, Quality & Patient Safety, Houston Methodist