A New York collaborative utilized a prevention bundle that helped reduce the incidence of C. difficile by 20 percent among participating hospitals, according to a CDC report.
In 2008, the Greater New York Hospital Association and United Hospital Fund partnered with New York State Department of Health to begin the C. difficile collaborative. Forty-seven hospitals participated in the 22-month project.
During that time, hospitals implemented a prevention bundle that was comprised of the following elements:
• Placing patients on contact precautions at symptom onset
• Monitoring the availability and use of personal protective equipment
• Monitoring hand hygiene
• Dedicating thermometers for C. difficile patients
• Implementing a patient placement strategy to optimize the use of private rooms or cohort patients when necessary (no sharing of bathrooms)
A separate checklist was developed to assess compliance with environmental protocols that included 48 elements for daily and terminal cleaning. After 22 months, the collaborative reported 1,084 fewer C. difficile infection cases.
In 2008, the Greater New York Hospital Association and United Hospital Fund partnered with New York State Department of Health to begin the C. difficile collaborative. Forty-seven hospitals participated in the 22-month project.
During that time, hospitals implemented a prevention bundle that was comprised of the following elements:
• Placing patients on contact precautions at symptom onset
• Monitoring the availability and use of personal protective equipment
• Monitoring hand hygiene
• Dedicating thermometers for C. difficile patients
• Implementing a patient placement strategy to optimize the use of private rooms or cohort patients when necessary (no sharing of bathrooms)
A separate checklist was developed to assess compliance with environmental protocols that included 48 elements for daily and terminal cleaning. After 22 months, the collaborative reported 1,084 fewer C. difficile infection cases.
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