Implementation of Targeted Gown and Glove Precautions to prevent Staphylococcus aureus Acquisition in Community-Based Nursing Homes

Nursing homes are healthcare settings that house a high prevalence of people with either methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or methicillin susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) colonization, creating a high risk for resident-to-resident transmission of S. aureus (SA). There is a mix of long term and short term stay residents in community-based nursing homes which blends a population recovering from acute illness with a chronically ill population which has high prevalence of SA colonization. Our objective in this project was to test the feasibility study of a novel intervention, the addition of targeted gown and glove use, to prevent SA acquisition in short stay residents of community-based nursing homes. Gown and glove use were targeted to specific high-risk care activities for high-risk residents defined as those with chronic wounds and medical devices. In order to determine where the genetic relatedness of S. aureus and infer transmission events, we sequenced the genomes of 300 isolates from patients in the nursing home.