Out of the 255 NICHE hospitals, 75 acute care hospitals (mean
number of beds, 391) from 29 states and Canada responded, for
a 34% response rate. Table 1 summarizes the characteristics of
participating hospitals. There were no differences between
responding and nonresponding hospitals in terms of bed size,
urban setting, and magnet or teaching status. Responding hospitals
were less than likely nonresponding hospitals to be governmentowned
(P ¼ .039). Table 2 summarizes the CDC’s recommended
prevention practices along with the responses of the participating
NICHE hospitals. Findings for individual prevention practices are
discussed in detail in what follows