Sustained reductions in unnecessary antimicrobial administration and hospital Clostridioides difficile rates via stewardship in a nonacademic setting.

A large community hospital sought to reduce its burden of hospital-acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI). We implemented an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP), resulting in marked reductions in unnecessary antimicrobial use, CDI rates, antimicrobial acquisition costs, with preservation of gram-negative susceptibilities. ASP programs are effective in a community setting.