Public
American Hospital Association content that is available to the public and all website users.
To reduce the time to first dose of antibiotics to directly admitted pediatric oncology patients with febrile neutropenia, an interdisciplinary quality improvement team systematically analyzed admission and treatment processes to identify barriers to care and key tactics for process improvement. A…
Harm/hospital-acquired condition reports were sent to each hospital. In reviewing both campuses, each was in the 'red' on the scorecard for hospital-acquired C. diff. A CQI+ team was sanctioned to reduce hospital-acquired C. diff by half from a high of 11 cases per month to 5.5 cases per month.
The Red Box strategy was created to help reduce cost and health care worker time associated with having to unnecessarily don and doff personal protective equipment (PPE) while still providing quality care. Using evidence-based practices, the hospital's infection prevention team implemented a three…
A hospital study was conducted to evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of UV light as a germicidal disinfectant after the environmental service (EVS) terminally cleaned confirmed C. diff patient rooms at discharge. Various swab collections of room surface areas took place during a control…
In October 2010, Memorial Medical Center implemented an intervention “bundle” designed to reduce onset of C. diff by 15 percent from prior year baseline. The bundle included five elements: (1) contact precautions, (2) hand washing, (3) environmental cleaning, (4) laboratory alerts and (…
Central line-associated bloodstream infections continued to occur in the adult ICU despite the implementation of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's central line bundle. Compliance with central line bundle was high, yet observations revealed breaks in aseptic technique during skin…
The hospital joined the On the CUSP: Stop BSI collaborative offered by IHA. The focus was on CLABSI reductions starting in the surgical intensive care unit, and then house-wide, including the cardiovascular intensive care unit, using the same evidence based best practices. Building on their 2007…
After identification of an opportunity to reduce CAUTIs, leadership headed an initiative to reduce the incidence of infection and foley utilization. A drive for improvement was managed by nursing leadership by instituting safety huddles, completing daily review of foley utilization and implementing…
A nurse-driven protocol was implemented to increase the staff's awareness on the appropriate indications of an indwelling urinary catheter to reduce the use of indwelling urinary catheters and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI). After receiving education, nursing staff was…
The driving principle behind the outpatient service excellence journey is excellent customer service with every interaction. This began with the outpatient team, including representatives from all outpatient areas, meeting biweekly to focus on the ideal patient experience. The goal was to engage…