OH hospital successfully battles C. diff

When officials at The Jewish Hospital-Mercy Health in Cincinnati launched a high-priority initiative in 2009 to bring down its skyrocketing C. diff rate, it took far less time and money than they expected to get dramatic results. With better controls on antibiotic use, new room-cleaning strategies, and revamped standards of care, the hospital cut its C. diff infection rate 50% in just six months—a period when the average number of cases dropped from about 16 a month to fewer than half that number. And the decline continues: From January through March this year, the infection rate was down nearly 80% since the initiative began, with no change in occupancy rates.