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Niagara Hospital superbug protection: $1 million annually

Health Minister Deb Matthews has told the Niagara Falls Review that although the C. Difficile outbreak at the St. Catharines General hospital has (finally) ended, not much is going to change at Niagara's hospitals. Many of the changes introduced to cope with the outbreak -- from restricted visiting hours, increased cleaning and hand washing, and daily staff meetings -- will remain in place. "This is the new normal," Matthews said.

Matthews added that it cost the Niagara Health System approximately $1.5 to $2 million to cope with the outbreak.  Maintaining the outbreak measures going forward will cost about $1 million annually, she said.

More on the costs of not improving hospital housekeeping tomorrow.

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