A new study of hospitals across six southern states found a spike in healthcare-associated infections was significantly more severe among smaller community hospitals than their larger academic medical center counterparts during the pandemic.
The study, by researchers from Duke University and the University of North Carolina and published in Clinical Infectious Diseases, suggests that community hospitals strained to balance COVID-19 patients and their standard infection control practices, writes Fierce Healthcare. Many of these community hospitals were in rural regions and faced resource limitations exacerbated by the pandemic.
Read more:
- Fierce Healthcare: https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/providers/pandemics-infection-control-struggles-were-worst-among-smaller-community-hospitals-study
- The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthcare-Associated Infections in Community Hospitals: Need for Expanding the Infectious Disease Workforce. Clinical Infectious Diseases. 23 August 2022.