Riverside County (Coachella Valley) / Desert Health Care District Clostridioides difficile Infection Prevention Collaborative

Region(s) served: Coachella Valley Area, Riverside County, California
Project dates: April 2018-April 2019

Overview
Together with Eisenhower Health, the HAI Program convened a Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) prevention collaborative among acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities in Riverside County. Each facility participated in an onsite infection prevention assessment, committed to a facility-specific action plan, and engaged staff at quarterly in-person learning sessions.This project was supported with grant funding from the Desert Health Care District, through Eisenhower Health, to hire a Community Engagement Specialist to work locally and build stronger partnerships with participating facilities.

Goals and Objectives
Decrease CDI rates in regions of healthcare facilities through the following objectives:

• Improve implementation of CDI prevention strategies within healthcare facilities in the Coachella Valley area
• Improve coordination of care to maintain appropriate infection control precautions when CDI patients transfer between facilities
• Improve CDI surveillance by enhancing the capability to track and analyze CDI data to target prevention efforts and monitor prevention progress
• Conduct more in-depth project evaluations including key informant interviews, laboratory testing surveys, and onsite project evaluations

Participating Facilities and Organizations

• 4 hospitals
• 13 skilled nursing facilities
• Riverside County Public Health
• Health Services Advisory Group (HSAG)

Outcomes

• Established a forum for local partners to build relationships, and share and discuss best practices
• Participating facilities committed to prevention action plans to improve antibiotic stewardship, environmental cleaning and disinfection programs, and interfacility communication
• Engaged participants in an interactive learning environment
• Gained leadership support for a permanent staff member to continue running the project beyond HAI Program involvement
• CDPH is currently evaluating the effect of participation in the Riverside County (Coachella Valley) / Desert Health Care District CDI Prevention Collaborative on CDI incidence. The analysis will use CDI data reported by hospitals in the region.

Testimonial
The collaboration with CDPH was very useful and provided our hospital with external support and resources for navigating best practices around antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control (C.diff prevention), environmental cleaning and disinfection, and diagnostic stewardship. We would benefit from continued involvement in those efforts.

For more information on the Riverside County / Desert Health Care District CDI Prevention Collaborative, contact HAIProgram@cdph.ca.gov. ​​