Tustin
facility is only full service acute care hospital in Orange County with no reported cases
TUSTIN,
Calif., Sept. 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --
Foothill Regional Medical Center is among the top 10% of
hospitals in the U.S. to achieve a zero-infection rate of
clostridioides difficile (C. diff), according to the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Foothill Regional is the only
full-service acute care hospital in Orange County to report no cases of the
potentially life-threatening healthcare-associated infection
(HAI).
Top 10% of hospitals in the U.S. to achieve
a zero-infection rate of clostridioides difficile (C. diff).
Nationwide, only 391 of the 4,000 hospitals included in the CMS
survey achieved a zero rate of C. diff infection. In California, only 21 of the state's 336
hospitals reported a zero rate.
"Our hospital has achieved this remarkable milestone of
maintaining a rate of zero C. diff infections through rigorous
dedication to infection prevention in our clinical practice and
medical procedures," said Araceli
Lonergan, Foothill Regional Medical Center CEO. "This
accomplishment reflects the expertise of our physicians and staff
and the quality of patient care we provide at our hospital."
The CMS survey looks at measures collected through the National
Healthcare Safety Network by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) that show how often patients in a hospital
contract a specific infection during the course of medical
treatment when compared to similar hospitals. Data was collected
from October 2022 to September 2023 and updated on July 31, 2024.
C. diff is a highly contagious bacterium that infects the colon
and causes serious diarrhea and colitis in individuals with altered
gut microbial flora. The U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), associates C. diff with increased morbidity,
mortality, healthcare costs, and length of stay. In the U.S., a
half million infections cause 15,000 deaths each year.
"Reducing HAIs is a key priority for us," said Glenda Luce, chief nursing officer at Foothill
Regional. "We make ongoing improvements in our risk assessment,
surveillance activities, education, and environmental
cleaning."
In addition to C. diff, Foothill Regional has achieved
significant low rates for three other HAIs, reaching more than
three and-a-half years free of central line-associated blood stream
infections (CLABSI), more than four years free of
catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and three
years free of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA).
About Foothill Regional Medical Center: Foothill Regional
Medical Center is a general acute care hospital with 177 beds,
including 42 pediatric subacute beds. The hospital offers an
expanded range of quality medical services and programs including
general and specialized surgery, orthopedics and spine program,
robotics surgery, nationally accredited weight-loss surgery
program, paramedic-receiving emergency department, as well as other
programs and services. Foothill Regional is part of Prospect
Medical, which operates medical groups and 16 hospitals in six
states. To learn more, visit FoothillRegionalMedicalCenter.com or
call (714) 619-7700.
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SOURCE Foothill Regional Medical Center