Implementing Antimicrobial Stewardship Core Elements in Utah Nursing Homes

In 2017, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) required all nursing homes (NHs) to implement an Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (ASP) as part of their infection prevention and control program. The goal of this study is to assess the implementation of ASP in Utah NHs.

A cross-sectional survey based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) seven ASP core elements was sent to Utah NHs via REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture).

The response rate was 50% (n = 49). Most facilities (96%) reported leadership support and at least one facility policy to improve their ASP, however a quarter of respondents (22%) did not know who was accountable for the ASP and 33% of facilities did not have infectious disease experts. More than half (69%) of Utah facilities reported use of treatment protocols and algorithms to outline the minimum prescribing antibiotics criteria.

Most Utah facilities reported leadership commitment to ASP. However, few facilities were partnered with a referral hospital, used the full range of reporting and monitoring tools, and many lacked patient education.

This evaluation highlighted strengths and areas for improvement in the implementation of AS core elements in Utah NHs.