The HAPPEN team is collaborating with VA leaders, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Joint Commission, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), insurers including Medicare and Medicaid, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, academia, and private industry to develop a national research agenda, policy, and an implementation/ marketing plan for the nation.

HAPPEN team members at each site include professionals in nursing, medicine, infection control, quality management, dental, speech and language pathology, and others.

Providing consistent oral care to hospitalized Veterans and long-term care residents cuts the risk of developing pneumonia in half.