title: Nationwide reduction of health care-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in Veterans Affairs long-term care facilities.
abstract: The Veterans Affairs methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Prevention Initiative was implemented in its 133 long-term care facilities in January 2009. Between July 2009 and December 2012, there were ~12.9 million resident-days in these facilities nationwide. During this period, the mean quarterly MRSA admission prevalence increased from 23.3% to 28.7% (P < .0001, Poisson regression for trend), but the overall rate of MRSA health care-associated infections decreased by 36%, from 0.25 to 0.16/1,000 resident-days (P < .0001, Poisson regression for trend).
authors.affiliation: Veterans Health Administration MRSA/MDRO Program Office, National Infectious Diseases Service, Patient Care Services, Veterans Affairs Central Office and Lexington Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Lexington, KY; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky School of Medicine, Lexington, KY. Electronic address: Martin.Evans@va.gov.
authors.forename: Martin E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: National Infectious Diseases Service, Patient Care Services, Veterans Affairs Central Office and Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH.
authors.forename: Stephen M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Kralovic
authors.affiliation: National Infectious Diseases Service, Patient Care Services, Veterans Affairs Central Office and Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH.
authors.forename: Loretta A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Simbartl
authors.affiliation: Veterans Affairs Inpatient Evaluation Center, Cincinnati, OH.
authors.forename: Ron W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Freyberg
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: D Scott
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Obrosky
authors.affiliation: National Infectious Diseases Service, Patient Care Services, Veterans Affairs Central Office and Cincinnati Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH.
authors.forename: Gary A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Roselle
authors.affiliation: Patient Care Services, Veterans Affairs Central Office, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Rajiv
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jain
mesh_terms: D015994:Incidence; D008134:Long-Term Care; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015995:Prevalence; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs
keywords: Health care–associated infection; Long-term care; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Nursing home