A photo of Joshua Scaffzin.

Director, Infection Control & Prevention

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

513-636-8492

Board Certified

My Biography & Research

Biography

Joshua K. Schaffzin, MD, PhD, completed his training in medicine, molecular genetics, biochemistry, and microbiology as a member of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Physician Scientist Training Program, followed by a pediatric residency at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He then was accepted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, serving in Albany, NY at the New York State Department of Health. He stayed on at the NYSDOH for three additional years before coming back to Cincinnati Children’s as a surgical hospitalist for 5 years. He then completed a Pediatric Infectious Fellowship in 2017, and was hired as the associate director of Infection Control and Prevention.

Dr. Schaffzin has been recognized for his work on outbreak investigation and mitigation, and as a clinical educator. He founded and co-chaired the AAP Surgical Care Subcommittee for the Section on Hospital Medicine, and currently serves as a co-leader of the Solutions for Patient Safety Surgical Site Infection Prevention group. He is a member of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, serving on the guidelines committee and pediatric leadership council. His greatest joy comes from interacting with patients, families, and colleagues, finding solutions to clinical and system problems together.

Clinical Interests

Pediatric infectious diseases; infection control and prevention

Research Interests

Infection control and prevention; epidemiology; human factors and system ergonomics

Academic Affiliation

Assistant Professor, UC Department of Pediatrics

Divisions

Infectious Diseases, Infectious Diseases

Cincinnati Children's Blog

Measles Outbreak 2019

BlogVaccines

Measles Outbreak 2019: Your MMR Questions Answered

By Josh Schaffzin, MD6/14/2019

Measles Is Making a Comeback

BlogVaccines

Measles Is Making a Comeback: How to Protect Your Family

By Josh Schaffzin, MD6/7/2019

Acute Flaccid Myelitis

BlogRare and Complex Conditions

Acute Flaccid Myelitis: Frequently Asked Questions

By Josh Schaffzin, MD11/5/2018

My Locations

My Education

PhD: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 1999.

MD: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, 2002.

Residency: Categorical Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Fellowship: Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Albany, NY.

Fellowship: Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.

Certification: Pediatrics, 2009.

My Publications

Reduced isolation room turnover time using Lean methodology. Ankrum, AL; Neogi, S; Morckel, MA; Wilhite, AW; Li, Z; Schaffzin, JK. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 2019; 40:1151-1156.

Successful Whole Genome Sequencing-guided Treatment of Mycoplasma hominis Ventriculitis in a Preterm Infant. Huang, FA S; Mortensen, J; Skoch, J; Andersen, H; Staat, MA; Schaffzin, JK; Haslam, DB. The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. 2019; 38:749-751.

Reliability of the Verigene system for the identification for Gram-positive Bacteria and detection of antimicrobial resistance markers from children with bacteremia. Beckman, M; Washam, MC; DeBurger, B; Haslam, DB; Courter, JD; Andersen, H; Schaffzin, JK; Tchou, MJ; Ankrum, A; Mortensen, J. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease. 2019; S0732:30474-30477.

Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunt Infection: Emerging Paradigms in Pathogenesis that Affect Prevention and Treatment. Simon, TD; Schaffzin, JK; Stevenson, CB; Willebrand, K; Parsek, M; Hoffman, LR. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2019; 206:13-19.

Use of a Clinical Care Algorithm to Improve Care for Children With Hematogenous Osteomyelitis. Robinette, ED; Brower, L; Schaffzin, JK; Whitlock, P; Shah, SS; Connelly, B; Team, AH O C A. Pediatrics. 2019; 143:e20180387-e20180387.

Infection prevention in the operating room anesthesia work area. Munoz-Price, LS; Bowdle, A; Johnston, BL; Bearman, G; Camins, BC; Dellinger, EP; Geisz-Everson, MA; Holzmann-Pazgal, G; Murthy, R; Pegues, D; et al. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology. 2019; 40:1-17.

Pennies for Our Thoughts. Schaffzin, JK. Hospital Pediatrics. 2018; 8:441-442.

Pediatric Hospitalist Comanagement Survey of Clinical and Billing Practices. O’Connor, KM; Zipes, DG; Schaffzin, JK; Rosenberg, R. Hospital Pediatrics. 2017; 7:615-620.

Surgical site infection related to use of elastomeric pumps in pectus excavatum repair. Lessons learned from root cause analysis. Apelt, N; Schaffzin, J; Bates, C; Brown, RL; Mecoli, M; Sadhasivam, S; Garcia, V. Journal of Pediatric Surgery. 2017; 52:1292-1295.

Standardizing preoperative preparation to reduce surgical site infections among pediatric neurosurgical patients. Schaffzin, JK; Simon, K; Connelly, BL; Mangano, FT; Infect, PS S. Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics. 2017; 19:399-406.