In an effort to curb the spread of C. difficile at Burnaby Hospital, the facility is planning to reduce the number of patients in each room, as well as upgrade the air-ventilation system.
A new 19-bed unit will be opened with two-bed and single occupancy rooms, while the number of three-bed patient rooms will be cut down.
"In terms of people being closer together, (this) presents additional risks for transfer infections, but also the sharing of bathrooms - reducing the number of patients sharing one bathroom, that's always good for infection-control measures," said Roy ThorpeDorward, spokesperson for Fraser Health.
The hospital will close its 42-bed transitional care unit, moving patients to appropriate residential care placements in the community, and converting the space into a 19-bed unit.
There have been ongoing outbreaks of Clostridium difficile - a bacteria that causes diarrhea, fever and nausea - at the hospital this year.
Last year, infection outbreaks forced the closure of two units - one for nine days in July and another for 12 days in late November and early December.
A number of factors have been reported by doctors at the hospital as contributing factors to the problem, including the age of the facility, overcrowding, a susceptible elderly patient population, inadequate hospital cleaning and a lack of administrative organization and support.
In the second fiscal month of this year (most of May) there were 14 new cases of C. difficile reported.
Since preventative measures have been taken, the average number of new cases has been reduced, with four new cases reported in the fiscal month ending Sept. 13.
"Improving and upgrading the ventilation system is one important step in a larger framework of expansion, development and improvement at Burnaby Hospital," said Nigel Murray, Fraser Health president and CEO, in a recent press release from the ministry of health.
The ventilation and air-handling systems upgrade is a routine capital investment, with a total project cost of $193,000, to be funded by the provincial government.
The upgrades are to be completed by February 2013, according to the release.
