Bluewater stresses cleaning, communication to beat C. difficile

Thursday, January 26, 2012 Natalie Hamilton

Enhanced cleaning and communication are helping Bluewater Health succeed at fighting C. difficile.

Exceeding best-practice cleaning recommendations and providing real-time updates are two strategies the hospital shares with Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada subscribers for managing an outbreak.

The Sarnia, Ont. hospital declared an outbreak of the hospital-associated infection Jan. 4. The number of active cases of C. difficile continues to fall.

While “it’s a difficult infection to eradicate because of the nature of the organism,” Bluewater is identifying best practices and action plans for the future, infection control co-ordinator Helen Shaw tells Axiom News.

“It’s very hard to pin down where the C. difficile organism comes from. We know environmental cleaning practices play a big role. This gives you an opportunity to review all practices,” Shaw says.

Bluewater is stepping up cleaning efforts by using a sporicidal disinfectant in all inpatient areas of the entire facility, not just on the inpatient medicine unit with the isolated patients.

Heightened communication and teamwork are also crucial during an outbreak, Shaw notes. Bluewater is monitoring patient conditions and the situation daily through its infection control committee and Lambton Community Health Services Department and hosting interdisciplinary, cross-organizational team meetings.

“That communication piece is really, really important,” Shaw says. Having a close relationship with the health department is a “very valuable asset,” she adds.

Bluewater is also keeping other stakeholders informed through handouts, signs, media releases and its website.

“Our patients, families and visitors have been extremely co-operative in helping us to reduce the spread of infection,” says Dr. Mark Taylor, vice-president of medical affairs and chief of quality, patient safety and risk management.

“With that, and the measures taken by our clinical and housekeeping teams, we are moving in the right direction.”

Taylor tells Axiom News the hospital is also examining the relationship between antibiotic use and C. difficile and will continue to make antibiotic stewardship a priority when the outbreak is over. “It has to constantly be reviewed and recognized,” he adds. 

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