More than a dozen healthcare facilities in Clark and Cowlitz counties in Washington state formed a task force to reverse the trend of increased hospital-acquired infections.

Since the task force formed in the fall of 2012, the rate of C. difficile infections in southwest Washington has dropped, according to an article on The Columbian website.

In November 2012, when the task force formed, the facilities reported a rate of 21.5 cases per 10,000 patient days. The rate started falling in December 2012 and continued its downward trend through 2013. In December 2013, the facilities reported a rate of 11.6 cases per 10,000 patient days, the article said.

Alarmed by the high C. difficile infection rates, infection prevention staff from PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and Cascade Park Care Center, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, came together to discuss strategies for bringing them down, Debby Kelley, PeaceHealth Southwest's infection preventionist, said in the article.

Really tackling the problem meant getting other care facilities involved, Kelley said.

The task force's efforts included pushing for better hand-washing habits. It also reinforced the use of best practices for cleaning a patient room after someone with C. difficile leaves, and they emphasized patient education on infection prevention.

Read the article.