Infection control in Maryland nursing homes

We surveyed 53 randomly chosen Maryland nursing homes for infection control policies and practices. The majority had written infection control policies, an infection control committee, and a designated practitioner for infection control; in most facilities, however, the infection control practitioner had other major duties, spent little time on infection control, and had no specific training in the field. Thirty-four percent of homes in the survey performed routine environmental cultures, and more than half had insufficient or no isolation policies for infected decubiti and acute diarrhea. In general, the intensity of infection surveillance and the extent of infection control measures increased with the level of care provided, from domiciliary homes to homes providing chronic care. Employee health care fared generally well: 60% of homes offered influenza vaccine to employees and 66% had restriction policies for employees with upper respiratory infections. While the majority of homes offered the influenza vaccine to residents, acceptance of other vaccines recommended for the elderly was less widespread. We conclude that infection control efforts are made in most Maryland nursing homes; however, appropriate guidelines and more effort to educate nursing home personnel in proper infection control practices are badly needed.