CUMBERLAND - The Western Maryland Health System will hold a forum to educate people about precautions they can take to prevent and reduce the risk of infection from methicillin-resistant staphylococcus.

The forum will be held March 5 at 6 p.m. at the Braddock Campus Auditorium. MRSA is a virulent strain of bacteria commonly found on the skin that has been making headlines in Maryland and throughout the nation.

WMHS is joining other Maryland hospitals in a statewide initiative coordinated by the Maryland Hospital Association. The forum will review the differences between health care-associated MRSA and community-associated MRSA and share the strategies hospitals are using to prevent and reduce infections.

Speakers for the forum include: Reed Erickson, M.D., WMHS Emergency Department; Pediatrician Michael Levitas, M.D., Children's Medical Group; Robert Manasse and Brenda Gross of WMHS Infection Control; and a representative from the Allegany County Health Department.

To register, call (301)723-6437 or log on to www.wmhs.com for more information.