āHealthcare facilities should:ā¢ Monitor adherence to CDI prevention practices of hand hygiene, contact precautions, and environmental cleaning and disinfection. Measuring adherence and providing feedback to staff are critical to a successful infection prevention program. Use the CDPH HAI Program tools for adherence monitoring. ā¢ Target CDI prevention strategies by identifying opportunities for improvement. Use the CDPH HAI Program Facility CDI self-assessment tool periodically to assess your facility CDI prevention practices. ā¢ Implement antimicrobial stewardship strategies to specifically address CDI. Antibiotic exposure is the major risk factor for CDI when a patient is also exposed to the C.difficile bacterium or spores.
(Coming soon!) ā¢ Evaluate and enhance environmental cleaning and disinfection. Reducing bioburden in the environment decreases potential for transmission of harmful organisms including C.difficile. (Coming soon!) ā¢ Communicate CDI status to receiving facilities ahead of time to ensure appropriate care is maintained when transferring a patient/resident with CDI. A template CDPH Interfacility Infection Control Transfer Form is available. (Coming soon!) ā¢ Report CDI outbreaks to local public health. Outbreaks in licensed healthcare facilities must also be reported to the local CDPH Licensing & Certification District Office. (Coming soon!) ā¢ Participate in regional CDI prevention efforts. Contact the HAI Program at HAIProgram@cdph.ca.gov for more information. | āPublic health partners should:ā¢ Be aware of CDI rates in healthcare facilities and communities. All California acute care hospitals are required to report healthcare facility-onset CDI to CDPH via the National Healthcare Safety Network. These data are reported annually and can be sorted by county. Raw data are available via the Open Data Portal. ā¢ Understand and provide guidance about CDI prevention and control measures to healthcare providers. Refer to the CDI Quicksheet for information on CDI prevention and outbreak investigations in healthcare facilities. A sample line list template is available upon request and can be used for information gathering when an outbreak is suspected. (Coming soon!) ā¢ Set expectations for facilities to effectively communicate CDI status when transferring patients/residents to another healthcare facility. A template CDPH Interfacility Infection Control Transfer Form is available. (Coming soon!) ā¢ Participate in regional CDI prevention efforts. Contact the HAI Program at HAIProgram@cdph.ca.gov for more information. |