Pamela Bailey, DO, MPH, FIDSA
Associate Infection Prevention Officer at ChristianaCare ChristianaCare
- Newark DE
Infectious diseases physician and epidemiologist specializing in infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship and quality improvement.
Biography
Dr. Bailey’s expertise includes antimicrobial stewardship, healthcare epidemiology, hand hygiene, personal protective equipment and clinical quality improvement. She has contributed to research examining antibiotic use during the COVID-19 pandemic, outpatient antimicrobial prescribing practices, and the treatment of infections associated with pregnancy and childbirth. She has previously received CDC grant funding for infection prevention education in an interprofessional format.
Her work brings together clinical infectious diseases, public health and health-system operations to address how infections are prevented, monitored and treated. She is particularly interested in translating evidence into practical policies and workflows that support patient safety, improve prescribing decisions and reduce the spread of infection.
Before joining ChristianaCare in her current leadership role, Dr. Bailey served as an infectious diseases physician at Prisma Health Midlands and as an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. She was the physician lead of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Collaborative of South Carolina and the director of the South Carolina Regional Infection Prevention Training Center. She completed her internal medicine residency at ChristianaCare and fellowships in infectious diseases and hospital epidemiology and infection control at Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. She also earned a Master of Public Health from Virginia Commonwealth University and is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
Areas of Expertise
Education
Virginia Commonwealth University
Master of Public Health
2020
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
Fellowship
Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Control
2020
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
Fellowship
Infectious Diseases
2019
ChristianaCare
Residency
Internal Medicine
2017
West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine
Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine
2014
Media Appearances
‘Not out of the woods’: Delaware doctor predicts more measles cases as the state’s outbreak rises to 5
WHYY print
2026-07-30
Dr. Pamela Bailey, associate infection prevention officer at ChristianaCare, emphasized the seriousness of Delaware’s growing measles outbreak and warned that additional cases are likely. She explained that measles is one of the most contagious diseases known, noting that the virus can remain in the air after an infected person coughs or sneezes and that unvaccinated individuals exposed to it have a very high risk of becoming infected. Bailey stressed that Delaware is “not out of the woods yet,” because symptoms can take up to 21 days to appear after exposure. She also highlighted the importance of vaccination, describing the MMR vaccine as a safe and effective way to prevent infection and serious complications. Bailey noted that while measles often causes symptoms such as fever, rash, cough and runny nose, it can also lead to severe health consequences, including brain inflammation, deafness and hospitalization. She expressed concern about both the Delaware outbreak and the larger outbreak in neighboring Pennsylvania, underscoring the need for residents to stay up to date on their vaccinations.
How Worried Should You Be About the Measles?
Prisma Health Flourish online
2025-07-17
Dr. Bailey answered public-facing questions about measles symptoms, transmission, complications, immunity, vaccination, treatment and vaccine safety.
South Carolina Confirms First Measles Case of 2025
WACH FOX tv
2025-07-09
Dr. Bailey discussed measles transmission, the loss of immune memory following infection, declining vaccination rates and the safety and effectiveness of the MMR vaccine.
Is It a UTI? How to Know and What to Watch For
Prisma Health Flourish online
2025-04-23
Dr. Bailey explained common UTI symptoms, when patients should seek care, warning signs of more serious infections, antibiotic treatment and preventive measures.
Amnio-Oh-No You Didn’t: Modernizing Antimicrobial Regimens for Intra-amniotic Infections
Breakpoints, Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists online
2025-05-23
Dr. Bailey joined an expert panel discussing modern approaches to treating intra-amniotic infections, alternative antibiotic regimens and antimicrobial-stewardship strategies for implementing changes in clinical practice.
Selected Papers and Publications
Implementation of a Pilot Program of Interprofessional Education in Infection Prevention
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology2025-10-27
Evaluates an interdisciplinary educational program designed to strengthen healthcare students’ knowledge and application of hand hygiene, personal protective equipment and other infection-prevention practices.
Stewardship Opportunities in Peripartum Infections: A Review of Quality Improvement Initiatives and Future Directions
Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology2025-09-05
Reviews opportunities to improve antimicrobial use in obstetric care by reducing treatment variation, strengthening diagnostic practices and addressing duplicate coverage and reported penicillin allergies.
Appropriateness of Ambulatory Antibiotic Prescribing in South Carolina, 2012–2017
Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology2024-01-27
Examines statewide outpatient prescribing patterns and identifies changes in inappropriate antibiotic use across patient populations over a six-year period.
Cefoxitin for Intra-amniotic Infections and Endometritis: A Retrospective Comparison to Traditional Antimicrobial Therapy Regimens Within a Healthcare System
Clinical Infectious Diseases2024-01-31
Compares cefoxitin monotherapy with traditional antibiotic regimens and evaluates its effectiveness in treating intra-amniotic infections and endometritis.
Contact Precautions as a Barrier to Hand Hygiene: The Plan–Do–Study–Act Framework to Improve Compliance With Gloved Hand Hygiene
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology2024-02-29
Examines missed hand-hygiene opportunities among nurses wearing gloves during contact precautions and evaluates an educational intervention intended to improve compliance.
Providing Value to Patients and Providers Via a Pediatric Statewide Antibiogram in South Carolina
Antimicrobial Stewardship & Healthcare Epidemiology2023-04-24
Describes the development of statewide pediatric and neonatal antibiograms to support empirical antibiotic selection and identify antimicrobial-resistance patterns across South Carolina.
Change in Antimicrobial Use During COVID-19 Pandemic in South Carolina Hospitals: A Multicenter Observational Cohort Study
International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents2021-10-13
Examines how the COVID-19 pandemic affected antimicrobial use across 17 South Carolina hospitals, including increased use of agents commonly prescribed for hospital-onset infections.
External Service & Affiliations
- Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America — FIDSA
- Board Certified in Infectious Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine
- Board Certified in Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine
Selected Honors & Awards
Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America — 2025
The IDSA Fellowship is recognize as one of the field’s highest professional honors, recognizing sustained contributions to infectious-disease research, education, public health or clinical care.
R25 Junior Faculty Fellow, Big Data Health Science Center, University of South Carolina - 2022
Dr. Bailey was selected as a 2022 R25 Fellow by the University of South Carolina’s Big Data Health Science Center. Her project examined outpatient antimicrobial use during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Saba Masho Endowed Scholarship in Epidemiology, Virginia Commonwealth University — 2020
Dr. Bailey was the inaugural recipient of the Dr. Saba Masho Endowed Scholarship in Epidemiology, which supports graduate students in epidemiology and public health.
Event Appearances
Evaluating the Predictive Value of Blood Culture Bottle Reporting for Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci-Positive Cultures: Assessing Contamination vs. True Bacteremia
IDWeek2019 Washington DC
2019-10-02
Research Focus
Antimicrobial Stewardship and Antibiotic Use
Improving how antibiotics are selected, prescribed and monitored across healthcare settings.
Dr. Bailey studies patterns of antimicrobial use and opportunities to improve antibiotic prescribing in hospitals, outpatient care and specialized patient populations. Her work examines inappropriate prescribing, variation in antimicrobial use, resistance-surveillance tools and the development of evidence-based treatment practices. She has contributed to statewide studies of outpatient antibiotic prescribing, hospital antimicrobial use during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and the use of pediatric antibiograms to support clinical decision-making.
Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology
Strengthening the practices, workflows and systems that reduce preventable infections in healthcare.
Dr. Bailey’s research explores how infection-prevention practices can be incorporated more effectively into everyday clinical care. Her work has examined hand hygiene and glove use during contact precautions, infection-prevention education for healthcare professionals, clinical workflows and the interpretation of blood cultures that may represent contamination rather than true infection. This focus closely aligns with her current leadership role in infection prevention at ChristianaCare.
Peripartum Infections and Obstetric Antibiotic Stewardship
Improving antimicrobial treatment for infections associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
Dr. Bailey studies opportunities to improve the treatment of intra-amniotic infections, endometritis and other infections occurring around childbirth. Her work evaluates treatment protocols, antibiotic selection, clinical outcomes and resource use, including research on cefoxitin-based therapy and the environmental waste produced by different treatment regimens.
