Foothill Regional Medical Center Among Top 10% of U.S. Hospitals to Achieve Zero C. Diff Infection Rate in CMS Survey

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).

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.

SOURCE Foothill Regional Medical Center