Table 1.

Infection control measures implemented at the start of study year 2

Target	Infection control measures
Exogenous acquisition of microorganisms	Reinforcement of hand hygiene Limit exchange of equipment, materials, and staff between patients by allocating dedicated materials to individual patients at bedside Revise washing procedures: allocate wash bowls to individual patients Measure compliance by direct observations
Exogenous acquisition of MRSA	Reporting of results of surveillance cultures Sign indicating positivity at the bedside
Endogenous acquisition of ESBL-positive Enterobacteriaceae	Change in empirical antimicrobial therapy resulting in three regimens applied simultaneously (“antibiotic mixing”)

Measures were targeted at reducing colonization by exogenous or endogenous acquisition. The target of each (set of) measure(s) is indicated