State Health Departments
C. difficile infections are usually a regional problem since patients transfer back and forth between facilities, such as from nursing homes to a hospital, which allows the disease to spread. Health departments have the ability and authority to work with many types of healthcare facilities, and therefore have a unique opportunity to coordinate comprehensive prevention programs in their state or area.
States and Communities Can:
- Encourage health care facilities to track and share data using CDC’s National Healthcare Safety Network.
- Develop regional C. difficile prevention projects with many types of facilities.
- Help health care facilities in their prevention efforts.
- Provide a standardized form [PDF – 132 KB] for facilities to use during patient transfers, especially between hospitals and nursing homes.
Vital Signs
State Success Stories
- Illinois Hospitals Collaborate to Reduce Clostridium difficile infections [PDF – 552 KB]
- Preventing C. difficile in Massachusetts Hospitals with a Mixed-Methods Learning Collaborative [PDF – 557 KB]
- New York Hospitals Team Up to Reduce Clostridium difficile Infections [PDF – 760 KB]
More Resources
See the list of
Infection Control Guidelines
Infection Control Guidelines
- Page last reviewed: February 25, 2015
- Page last updated: February 25, 2015
- Content source: