PLF has developed two guides with useful information reviewed by our Scientific Advisory Council for medical accuracy. The Care Guide contains information on infection prevention, diagnosis, treatments for C. diff, and more. The Nutrition and Lifestyle Guide includes tips and recipes to help C. diff patients meet nutritional needs, recover from infection, and restore their gut microbiome.

Peggy Lillis Foundation’s Peer Support Network is an online support program for people affected by C. difficile infections (CDI). Individuals are connected with experienced mentors who have survived or cared for someone with CDI. Peer supporters offer guidance and assistance based on their lived experiences with C. diff but do not serve as medical or counseling professionals or dietitians. If you are in a medical emergency, please call 911. If you are in a mental health crisis, please call your local crisis center or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255.

To apply for Peer Support, please click below. 

Since 2015, PLF has convened an annual Summit for C. diff survivors, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and policymakers. Our Summit serves a dual purpose of educating and training new and returning members of our Advocates Council and building a network of scientists, clinicians, policy experts, and companies aligned in our fight against C. diff.

Since 2018, PLF has convened the sole Lobby Day for C.diff on Capitol Hill. Every year, we bring C. diff survivors and caregivers from all across the country to meet with their representatives. Our advocates meet with their Senate and Congressional offices to discuss funding our critical public health agencies, legislation to make diagnostics and treatments more accessible, and to invest in new preventatives and treatments, including antibiotics, among other issues. For example, our Advocates helped successfully prevent the repeal of C. diff reporting by Medicare and Medicaid. If you want to join our annual Lobby Day, please apply to our Advocates Council.

Peggy Lillis Foundation believes that every American who is harmed or dies from a healthcare-associated infection (HAI), including clostridium difficile infections, deserves to be counted. Because of gaps in infection and mortality reporting at the state and federal levels, tens of thousands of Americans are not included in official estimates.

We aim to dramatically increase public reporting of C. diff and other healthcare-associated infections to ensure that every American who suffers and dies from these preventable diseases is counted. To achieve our goal, we will work to require that C. diff and other HAIs are recorded on death certificates; advocate for the modernization of nationally reportable disease laws; expand and update state public reporting laws, and increase funding for surveillance, reporting and public education at state and federal levels.

To date, we have led a petition that has collected over 2,000 signatures. More importantly, we got report language tasking CDC with exploring ways to expand C. diff reporting, including potentially adding it to the list of Nationally Notifiable Diseases.

Legislative and regulatory reform has been a key part of PLF’s work for nearly a decade. In addition to our successful advocacy around Medicare and Medicaid support, PLF has brought patient power and perspectives to a range of legislative and advocacy efforts, including:

• President’s Advisory Council on Combating Antimicrobial Research Bacteria (PACCARB): Our executive director testified before PACCARB in 2017, sharing Peggy’s story and asking for increased focus on C. diff and antibiotic stewardship. In 2019, our Board member Christina Fuhrman also testified before PACCARB.
• PLF’s executive director was among the three patient advocates who attended the 2015 White House Forum on Antibiotic Stewardship.
• PLF Advocates have submitted public comments to the American Dental Association, urging a decrease in the use of prophylactic antibiotics.