AJIC Volume 22, Number 2 Abstracts 113 DOES DEPENDENCE INFLUENCE RISK FOR UPPER RFSPlRATORY INFEKTIOW M. Tsivitis, MT(ASCP), MPH, CIC. * A.M. Fll, MD. Lmg Island State Vdcrpns Home, Stony Brook, NY. Bechgmm& vimlupperr@mtMyinfcctiona(uRI)ffcq~yoccluinlong kmlurefacili!ica. Ombre&sofURIareallocommonirltheacrcttinns. Durinna community outbreak of viral URI, an outbmak occmxd involving 35% of residents~m sdjacmtmdk. SpmadiccasenacmrredinarPtTamimakkatsonothcrmdts,but xtditionalc~tb~didtmtoccu. Becaweoftkhbfbatkckrakonatemtit.m ReAlltr: Niiof54rtaidmtsmettbecaedafinitim(methmat,hoprsenau. nualcmg&m,cough,temp>lMIF,malaise). Novimlorbataialpnthogcoswue refoverrdfmmspwimuu wbmitkd. The ame4 of statT illnea followed onw in midentssuggea6ngtrattmlssimoccturedfromnaidatsk6kff. Themcanscorefor usesonunit”A”warll.l,forsuspcctcdcesu(olllyoncsympom)themePn~~wep 8.2 and for asym@omatic residents, 8.4. The ovaall MM score for msidats of ‘A was9.6,witbarangefmmOtol5. 93%ofmldmtscm’A”ateinUledbdngmom @R). On oomparlsm unit “Z’ the mean score was 7.2. with P range from 0 to 16, and 7O%ateintheDR. cm Dwmxdflmcti~abllityordepndenccandcrowdingare asaxiakd with risk for transmission and develqxwt of viml URI. DEVEIAXlNG GUIDELINE3 FOR USE OF SCRUB ATTIRB BY HOSPITAL PERSONNEL. T.A. Acamtius. RN, BSN, CIC.’ Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH. The Infection Control Department at this 700+ bed acute cam bos@l has lmg voiced concern regarding the use of scrub attire by many employees. This attire is pmvidedbyandcaredfabytlicfacility. Aapartofamajoreffmitoredwcosb,a ‘uniform task force” wps formed to evaluate the us?.of employer-pmvlded work clothes, lthdblg $cNbs, thl-oughout the illstlhltim. The Infection contml Pmctitioner was cmsulted for guidehe in this very sensitive issue. A thomugh revlea of the lit&we and smedards from pmfes.simal organizations w-a8 atied out. A rankittlt of rs~mm~ndatkm similar to CDC Guidelines cDteg01~ Bum Unit have scrub suits pmvidd and laude& by the facility. In addition, pusmal mkctive eutdmnmt is provided as rewired bv the OSHA Bloodborne Patba~ens handml. ti cl--of the employe& per&ml clothing soiled with blood or &a pm&ally infectious materials is not required by OSHA, this facility has established a pmcedure for doing 90. To assist in implementing this change., a list of possible employee questions and am~ers to these questions was developed and distributed to all affected departments. Employee meetings were scheduled. Employees were also given the opportunity to purchw their own scrubs at reduced prices through a hospital vendor. Additional savings were realized by deleting the paid ‘changing time” for employees not required to wear scrubs. The total estimated annual savings associated with these changes was $81,382.00. THE COMBINED FPFEfXS OF COHORTING, SIGNAGE, EDUCATION AND BNVIRONMENTALCONTROLONVANCOMYCINRESISTANT~ E&QJJM (VRBF) IN INTBNSNB CARE PATIENTS. K. Pwy, BSN, MPH, CIC; ht. FUrywka. MS, S. Krystofiak, MS, MT, B. McCoy, MNEd, E. Wing, MD, F. Ruben, MD, P. Linden, MD, D. Kramer, MD. Univcaity of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA. VREF plt%ats P signiht Ii* of hfectlm and utmded ICU stay for critical care @eat& A prospwdve study of the combimd efforts of m, signage, educption and wvimommtpl control on VREF hmsmiwion was u&at&m during M onghg outbreak in four Lives Ttmsplm IcUs. For tk tint tbrce months of 1993, a deamakd VREF ICU was cdtablisbcd. Usim rectal smve&mx cultums. all wvlv id&tied VRBF pxitive transplant patients w&e admitted to this ICU. A &F sigh was de”eIoped id posted at the -bedside of positive patients. Thirty-me formal education &cm were wmtuctcd for 350 healthcprc worker8 cm VREF tmnsmission. Cm amimicmbial soap w placed in all handwashing area. unit-baaed claning procedures wes’e modified to daease the likelihood of taumiaim due to fomitea. ‘Ilw combined effkv.of the control meawesweremmltomdbyVREF incidence rates. Incidmce rate was detined as the number of newly colonized or infected patients per 100 admissions. Two bundd and fortv tmns&ant tmtimta were admitted to the four ICUs dtie the the month period. Foliwing’tbe l&ducticm of the combined control mea& theincidwc.f~cawadecrraacdrignificantly. Incidmcewas2.5duringthestudy m-hi wmd to 6.0 in 1992 fn< ,015). Caladadon of mlative risk indiaed that ;mticntc~~thrccdmesmoreW;lytobdmmcVREFpositiv~in1992thanduringthc study paiod. In April through June of 1993, cohorting to the designated ICU ~gs discontinued while all other cmtml lreaswes were maintained. VRBF incidence ind to 10.0. we conclude that cohotig, milii P *nated patient care unit, in an effective amho meawe for VRBF tnmsmis.xion in outbreak sihntims. Although other intetvmtions cmaibute to increased infection cmtml awmmess, minimidng patient expceure to VREF positive individuals by shorting may be the most bmefmial measure. PSBUDOMONAS PI- BA- INAPRBGNmFBMALB-WAS TIE N SITE CObIPRESS THB CULPRIW I. Kohl, RN, CIC: Holmu Regional Medical cmkr, IbI&mme, FL. A23yesroldpm#tmtfanalew~admitkdbtprcmrturelabor. ApaiphualN wasskrkdofLrtptcdRbtg&r’mdMagaeaittmStdfak. Thcpatiatca&inedofpain