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Ventilator associated pneumonia are infections that occur in ventilator tubes and account for 15 percent of health care-acquired infections, according to the CDC. Many of these infections can be prevented with certain quality improvements in patient care including oral hygiene, ventilator tubing…
The Problem Nearly one million people develop pressure ulcers each year, and 60,000 U.S. hospital patients die annually from complications related to pressure ulcers. The treatment costs can be significant; treating a pressure ulcer can run $2,000 to $70,000 per wound. The national incidence of…
The Problem Norwalk Hospital was an early developer and user of health information technology. In recent years, its patchwork of unrelated, home-grown systems was becoming outdated. It was faced with a decision to modify its systems or replace them with a commercial productThe Solution
The Problem Falls are a serious problem for older people, composing the largest single category of reported incidents in hospitals, according to the Joint Commision. Falls pose an even greater risk for older hospitalized patients. Even with daily fall-risk assessments, Mercy Health Center had more…
The Problem Like many urban safety net hospitals, Hahnemann University Hospital struggled with overcrowding in its emergency department (ED). From December 2008 through February 2009, the ED had 8,821 visits. Of these, 12.7 percent of patients left without being seen. The Solution Upon joining the…
The Problem After examining hospital data to pinpoint opportunities to improve, Gundersen Lutheran focused on patient falls. Patient falls made up the second-largest category of reported incidents for Gundersen Lutheran, after medication events. 'It was clear everyone was trying hard, but there was…
The Problem The infection rate in the NICU at Charleston Area Medical Center was 18 percent in 2005. This was considerably higher than the baseline set for NICUs through the Vermont-Oxford Network, a non-profit collaboration of more than 800 NICUs around the world. The Solution