Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

Source: http://www.610cktb.com/news/local/Story.aspx?ID=1565609

Hotel Dieu's C.difficile case count up
Siobhan Morris, 610 CKTB News
11/2/2011

The number of cases linked to an outbreak of C.difficile at Hotel Dieu Shaver Rehab Centre is up.

The St. Catharines facility has added 2 cases, bringing its total to 6.

But after a meeting with Niagara Public Health, Hotel Dieu doesn't think the additions are new cases.

Liz Pearson, Manager of Infection Prevention & Control at Hotel Dieu says patients likely had C.difficile at the start of the outbreak but didn't show symptoms right away...

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

Source: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/A...aspx?e=3355773

Hotel Dieu staffer contracts C. difficle
By Grant LaFleche
Posted 11 hours ago

Ontario's Ministry of Labour gave the Hotel Dieu Shaver Rehabilitation Centre's outbreak protocols a clean bill of health Wednesday after a staff member contracted C. difficile.

The ministry found no problems with the rehab centre's outbreak control methods and the staffer is recovering at home, said Hotel Dieu Shaver's infection control manager, Liz Pearson...

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

Second death in Hotel Dieu C. diff outbreak

By Grant LaFleche Standard Staff

Posted 1 day ago

A second C. difficile patient from Hotel Dieu Shaver Health and Rehabilitation Centre has died.

The rehab centre said the patient, who had been at Hotel Dieu since late September, passed away Monday after being transferred to a Niagara Health System hospital.

Hotel Dieu's vice-president of clinical services, Carol Bergeron, said Wednesday that the elderly woman first showed signs of C. difficile infection while at the rehab centre.

"This is very distressing for us," said Bergeron, who added that staff had already spoken to the patient's family. "We get to know our patients very well, so it's painful when something like this happens."

The woman was the second patient associated with the outbreak, which was declared on Oct. 19, to pass away. The other patient died in October after having been transferred to an NHS hospital.

More...

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3372109

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

C. diff is back in Niagara — Falls hospital outbreak declared

Eight non-hospital acquired cases in St. Catharines

By Grant LaFleche, Standard Staff

Posted 3 hours ago

For just over a month, the Niagara Health System has breathed a little easier. Whatever else might be happening, its managers could at least say they were no longer dealing with an outbreak of C. difficile.
Until yesterday, that is.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the NHS declared an outbreak in one wing of the Greater Niagara General Hospital in Niagara Falls. It's the first time the NHS has dealt with a Clostridium difficile outbreak since the one at the St. Catharines General Hospital ended Oct. 24.

The last series of outbreaks that hit hospitals in St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland, lasted nearly five months and saw 102 people suffer from hospital-acquired infections. Thirty-seven of those patients died, and in seven of those cases C. difficile was deemed the principal cause of death.

On Wednesday, vice-president of patient services Kim Stephens-Woods said there are three patients in unit D, which has about 30 beds, of the Niagara Falls facility with hospital-acquired C. difficile, meaning they are believed to have become infected with the bacteria while in hospital.
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At the St. Catharines General Hospital, there are no hospital-acquired C. difficile cases. However, there are eight patients suffering from community-acquired infections they are believed to have contracted outside the hospital.

Stephens-Woods said the NHS has noticed an increase in C. difficile cases in the community, although the reason why is not clear. Clostridium difficile is not a seasonal illness, although the winter brings in more patients suffering from pneumonia and other related problems that are treated by antibiotics.

Full text:
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3397013

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

Another C. diff case at Niagara Falls hospital

By Niagara Falls Review
Updated 20 hours ago

After declaring a C. difficile outbreak at the Greater Niagara General Hospital Wednesday, the Niagara Health System said it's working hard to keep the problem from spreading. However, a fourth patient has tested positive.

On Wednesday, the NHS said three patients had confirmed positive for hospital-associated C. difficile on Unit D in the previous week. Under newly-established infection prevention and control protocols, that meant the Unit D was considered to be at the threshold required for an outbreak to be declared.

One of those patients was released and then readmitted Thursday, and a fourth patient also confirmed positive, confirmed NHS public affairs consultant Caroline Bourque Wiley.

More...

http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3399902&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

NHS investigates ?breach? of outbreak protocol at GNGH

BULLET NEWS

NIAGARA FALLS ? Niagara Health System officials have investigated and corrected what they describe as a ?breach? in their protocol for isolating patients during a C. difficile outbreak.

NHS president and chief executive officer Sue Matthews said Monday two patients at Greater Niagara General hospital were mistakenly placed in the same room as two other patients with diarrhea.
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As diarrhea can be a sign of an active C. difficile infection, grouping together patients with diarrhea with those who do not have it is ?inconsistent with NHS policy and practice and was inappropriate.?
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The latest C. difficile outbreak at GNGH was declared on Dec. 7.

The outbreak is localized on the hospital?s inpatient medical Unit D.

As of Monday afternoon, the total number of C. difficile cases at GNGH associated with outbreak was six. That?s an increase of two since Friday.

Four patients remain in hospital. All patients are curretly in single rooms with contact precautions and extra cleaning measures in place, NHS officials say.

Full text:

http://www.bulletnewsniagara.ca/2011/12/13/nhs-investigates-breach-of-outbreak-protocol-at-gngh/

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

OUTBREAK UPDATE: C. difficile case count up at Greater Niagara General hospital

Bullet News

NIAGARA FALLS ? The number of C. difficile cases associated with an outbreak at Greater Niagara General hospital stands at seven.

That?s up one from Thursday.

In their daily update, NHS officials said Friday there are a total of 19 C. difficile cases at GNGH, including 11 hospital-associated cases and eight community-acquired cases.

Only seven of the cases, however, are directly related to the outbreak declared on Dec. 7.

More...

http://www.bulletnewsniagara.ca/2011/12/17/outbreak-update-c-difficile-case-count-up-at-greater-niagara-general-hospital/

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Re: Ontario: C. diff outbreaks at the Greater Niagara General Hospital, Welland General Hospital and the Hotel Dieu Shaver rehabilitation centre

Source: http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/A...aspx?e=3410046

St. Catharines Standard, Niagara Region, Sun Media

C. diff patient dies in Niagara Falls hospital
By Brett Clarkson, QMI Agency
Posted 2 hours ago

A patient at Greater Niagara General Hospital has died after testing positive for a C. difficile infection.

The patient, who was in Unit D of the hospital, died Sunday, the Niagara Health System confirmed.

"It's a very difficult time for the family and the loved ones of the patient, so I want to express condolences on behalf of the Niagara Health System for their loss," said spokeswoman Caroline Bourque-Wiley, adding the patient was elderly and was dealing with multiple serious health issues. In a press release issued Monday afternoon, the NHS said the patient tested positive for hospital-associated Clostridium difficile.

Bourque-Wiley said the death has been reported to the coroner and will be reviewed by NHS chief of staff Dr. Joanna Hope to determine the role C. difficile played in the death, if any.

Unit D at GNGH is where a new C. difficile outbreak was declared Dec. 7.

As of Monday, there were 20 cases of C. difficile at GNGH, 12 of them hospital-associated and eight community-acquired. There were seven determined to be outbreak-related cases...