Healthcare-Acquired Infections
MRSA – Healthcare Acquired Infections have received increased attention form the media, consumer groups, payers, purchasers, and regulators over the past few years. The statistics reflecting the increasing incidence of antibiotic resistant healthcare-acquired infections, the growing research suggesting many healthcare-acquired infections are preventable, and the staggering costs associated with healthcare-acquired infections are fueling the increased focus.
SCIP – Surgical site infections account for 14 to 16 percent of all hospital-acquired infections and are among the most common complications of care. It is estimated that 40 to 60 percent of all surgical site infections are preventable. Surgical site infections extend the length of stay by seven days on average.
CLABSI – Almost half of all intensive care patients require a central venous catheter. There are approximately 5.3 central line infections per 1,000 catheter days in intensive care units (ICU), with an estimated mortality rate between 5-18 percent. Central line infections extend the length of stay by seven days, according to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).
Implement Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP)
Goal: Implement and evaluate the impact of the Comprehensive
Unit-Based Safety Program (CUSP).
Hypothesis: The CUSP will help teams learn from mistakes and
improve the safety climate.
Implementation: Evaluate culture of safety.
Educate on the sciences of safety.
Identify preventable errors. Determine how the next patient might be harmed.
Assign a senior executive to adopt the team.
Learn from one preventable error per month.
Re-evaluate culture.
Tennessee Nursing Partners Collaborative
The nursing partners collaborative, under the leadership of the Tennessee Organization of Nurse Executives (TONE), is focused on the linkages between work environment and patient safety and quality outcomes. The project introduces strategies to build a culture of safety and teamwork, as well as share best practices for workforce retention.
The collaborative has identified four areas for implementation of pilot projects:
- Build a culture of safety and teamwork
- Staffing to meet individual patient needs
- Sharing hospital performance
- Addressing the workforce shortage
The project activities align with national models for nursing professional practice and magnet hospital principles.
Key partners in the nursing collaborative, in addition to TONE, include the Tennessee Nurses Association, Tennessee Center for Nursing, Tennessee Society for Healthcare Human Resources and Tennessee Health Care Association
Tennessee NSQIP Surgical Quality Consortium
The Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and the Tennessee Hospital Association, through the Tennessee Center for Patient Safety, received a grant from the BlueCross-BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation to develop the Tennessee NSQIP Surgical Quality Consortium. This consortium is designed to evaluate and improve surgical care delivered by general and vascular surgeons in the state. The three-year grant will be used to support the use of the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) in eight hospitals.
Leadership for the consortium will be provided by surgeons from the Tennessee Chapter who participate in ACS NSQIP and Tennessee Center for Patient Safety staff. Surgeon champions at the three current ACS NSQIP participating hospitals also will work as mentors for the new participating hospitals and physicians. Hospitals will use aggregate reports to identify improvement opportunities, identify areas that have better ascertain and disseminate best practices in Tennessee.
Visit the website at www.tnsqc.org