Hospitals in Washington State will adopt federal standards for tracking MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), thought to be one of the most widespread illnesses spread in hospitals. The Seattle Times wrote an in-depth three part article documenting the situation, and apparently it made an impact.

The state’s initiatives follow a Seattle Times investigation, “Culture of Resistance,” which reported this week that MRSA infection rates have soared as hospitals often ignored steps to control the threat.

In the first comprehensive tracking of the germ, The Times found that the number of hospitalized Washington patients infected with MRSA escalated over the past decade from 141 a year to 4,723 last year.

This will take a year or more to fully implement the new regulations, but there should be a noticeable drop in the spread of MRSA in the years to come. If you haven’t read the series yet, you should.

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3.