Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology Publication Info
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Survey of Long‐Term–Care Facilities in Iowa for Policies and Practices Regarding Residents With Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Vancomycin‐Resistant Enterococci
Formats Available in JSTOR: PDF
Abstract(back to top)
OBJECTIVES. To identify infection control policies and practices used by long‐term–care facilities (LTCFs) in Iowa for residents with methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin‐resistant enterococci (VRE), and to estimate the prevalence of residents known to have these organisms.
DESIGN. Survey.
SETTING. LTCFs in Iowa from December 2002 through March 2003.
RESULTS. Of the 429 LTCFs in Iowa, 331 (77%) responded to the survey. The estimated prevalence of residents known to have MRSA was 13.4 per 1,000 and that of residents known to have VRE was 2.3 per 1,000. Facilities owned by the government or those with an average of more than 86 occupied beds were more likely to have residents known to have MRSA and VRE (P = .002 and .007, respectively). Of the responding facilities, 7.3% acknowledged that they refused to accept individuals known to have MRSA and 16.9% acknowledged that they refused to accept those known to have VRE. Facilities in large communities (population, > 100,000) were least likely to deny admission to an individual known to have either MRSA or VRE (P = .05). Most facilities reported adhering to the national guidelines, but fewer than half (44.7%) of the respondents had heard of the Iowa Antibiotic Resistance Task Force’s guidelines regarding residents with MRSA or VRE.
CONCLUSIONS. Many LTCFs in Iowa care for residents known to have MRSA or VRE, but some refuse to admit these individuals. Infection control personnel and public health officials should work together to educate LTCF staff so that residents receive proper care and resistant organisms do not spread within this setting.
Bibliographic Information(back to top)
- Survey of Long‐Term–Care Facilities in Iowa for Policies and Practices Regarding Residents With Methicillin‐Resistant Staphylococcus aureus or Vancomycin‐Resistant Enterococci
- Trisha Kreman , MPH, Jianfang Hu , MS, Jean Pottinger , RN, MA and Loreen A. Herwaldt , MD
- Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
- Vol. 26, No. 10 (October 2005) (pp. 811-815)
Notes and References(back to top)
This item contains 1 note(s).
Notes
Ms. Kreman and Dr. Herwaldt are from the Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health; Mr. Hu and Dr. Herwaldt are from the Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine; and Ms. Pottinger and Dr. Herwaldt are from Clinical Outcomes and Resource Management, University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, Iowa.Address reprint requests to Loreen Herwaldt, MD, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA 52242‐1081. loreen‐herwaldt@uiowa.eduSupported in part by a Prevention Epidemiology Center grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The authors thank Margo Schilling for critiquing the survey tool; the staff members of the long‐term–care facilities who filled in the surveys and answered our questions by phone; and Sandra Cobb, Charisma Eugenio, Ellen Natvig, and Shane Gillespie for sending the surveys, entering the data into the database, and validating the data entry.
Items Citing this Item (back to top)
6 item(s) in JSTOR cite this item
- Courtney Reynolds , MS; Victor Quan , BA; Diane Kim , BS; Ellena Peterson , PhD; Julie Dunn , MPH; Matthew Whealon , BS; Leah Terpstra , BA; Hildy Meyers , MD, MPH; Michele Cheung , MD, MPH; Bruce Lee , MD, MBA; Susan S. Huang , MD, MPHVol. 32, No. 1 (January 2011) pp. 91-93Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657637
- Sang Hoon Han , MD; Bum Sik Chin , MD; Han Sung Lee , MD; Su Jin Jeong , MD; Hee Kyung Choi , MD; Chang Ki Kim , MD; Chang Oh Kim , MD; Dongeun Yong , MD, PhD; Jun Yong Choi , MD, PhD; Young Goo Song , MD, PhD; Kyungwon Lee , MD, PhD; June Myung Kim , MD, PhDVol. 30, No. 2 (February 2009) pp. 130-138Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/593957
- Philip W. Smith MD; Gail Bennett RN, MSN, CIC; Suzanne Bradley MD; Paul Drinka MD; Ebbing Lautenbach MD; James Marx RN, MS, CIC; Lona Mody MD; Lindsay Nicolle MD; Kurt Stevenson MDVol. 29, No. 9 (September 2008) pp. 785-814Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/592416
- Laura K. Quinn , MPH; Yiyi Chen , MS; Loreen A. Herwaldt , MDVol. 28, No. 11 (November 2007) pp. 1228-1232Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/520747
- Philip M. Polgreen , MD; Susan E. Beekmann , MPH; Yi Yi Chen; Gary V. Doern , PhD; Michael A. Pfaller , MD; Angela B. Brueggemann , DPhil; Loreen A. Herwaldt , MD; Daniel J. Diekema , MDVol. 27, No. 3 (March 2006) pp. 252-256Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/501537
- Chesley L. Richards , Jr., MD, MPHVol. 26, No. 10 (October 2005) pp. 800-801Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/502496