Case Studies
The ProblemMajor abdominal surgery, such as elective colon surgery or major hernia repair, is high risk. After surgery, patients typically have long stays in the hospital, which increases the risk for occurrence of deep vein thrombosis—a blood clot in the legs or-and hospital-acquired…
The ProblemUrinary tract infections are the most common infections in hospitals. The majority are caused by instrumentation with a urinary catheter. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections increase cost and morbidity. A performance improvement team was formed to reduce CAUTI by 30 percent in…
The Problem MRSA accounts for more than 18,000 deaths annually nationwide, according to the CDC. The proportion of health care-associated staph infections due to MRSA has been increasing. In 1974, two percent of S. Aureus infections in U.S. intensive care units were MRSA. By 2004, that figure…
The Problem Medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year, according to the Institute of Medicine. The extra medical costs of treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone amount to approximately $3.5 billion a year, without…
The Problem Adverse drug events occur in as many as 10 percent of hospitalized patients, with thousands of patients dying each year from drug-related injuries, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. A single ADE can cost as much as $7,000. Narcotics, anticoagulants and insulin are…
The Problem Inapproprate inductions of labor, defined as elective iductions less than 39 weeks gestation or whent he cervix is not readily inducible, have a negative impact on patient safety. It increases the risk of admission intot he NICU for the infant. The Solution An obstetrical task force was…
The Problem While all facitilites aspire to limit the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia, doing so within the confines of a spinal cord injury population presents unique challenges. In April of 2008, we had several patients, some of whom had spinal cord injuries and were on ventilators,…
Urinary tract infections are the most common hospital-acquired infection with 80 percent of these infections attributable to an indwelling urinary catheter (Foley). Logic follows if one can decrease the use and length of time Foley catheters remain in place, hospital-acquired urinary tract…
Health care acquired infections in U.S. hospitals account for 1.7 million infections and 99,000 assocated deaths each year, according the the CDC. Of these, 32 percent are UTIs. At Health Central, CAUTIs were less than the national average yet the infection control committee thought one CAUTI was…