By Healthcare Facilities Today

A recent study published in the American Journal of Infection Control showed that a  prevention initiative previously credited with significantly reducing rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Veteran's Affairs hospitals has sustained those gains over two additional years, according to article on the Modern Healthcare website.

The VA MRSA Prevention Initiative, launched in 2007,  was credited with a 62% drop in MRSA infection rates in ICUs and a 45% decline in non-ICU settings during the first three years the program was in place. MRSA transmission rates fell 17% in ICUs and 21% in non-ICUs, according to initial results.

Over the next 24 months, from July 2010 through June 2012, VA hospitals maintained—and in some cases exceeded—those earlier MRSA reductions. Over the entire 57 months of the initiative, MRSA healthcare-associated infections in ICUs declined 71.9%, while non-ICU infections fell 65.5%. ICU and non-ICU transmissions fell by 21.8% and 24.7%, respectively, according to the article.

“The analysis presented here shows that, over the ensuing 24 months, MRSA transmissions and MRSA HAI rates continued to decrease nationwide,” the article quoted from the study.

The VA initiative required participating hospitals to implement a set of best practices, including nasal surveillance for MRSA, improved hand hygiene protocols and contact precautions for patients colonized or infected with MRSA. Additionally, the campaign emphasized the need to change hospital culture and redefine infection control as a shared responsibility, the article said.

Read the article.