Infection Prevention Work Recognized at CDH
NORTHAMPTON — Cooley Dickin-son Hospital is one of only two hospitals in Massachusetts to achieve mentor status in three of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 100,000 Lives initiatives.
These initiatives aim to prevent infections and take a proactive approach to patient care with the ultimate goal of saving lives, said Donna Truesdell, RN, director of Quality Improvement at CDH.
“We’ve adopted all six of the IHI initiatives and were named mentor hospital status in three of the six initiatives: preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia, preventing central line infections, and preventing medication errors,” Truesdell said, noting that the mentor status means Cooley Dickinson employees continue to meet or exceed IHI’s clinical best-practice guidelines.
Of the three categories in which CDH was named a mentor hospital, Truesdell offered examples of how the organization and its employees achieved these outcomes:
Preventing ventilator-associated pneumonia. The hospital prevents patients on ventilators from developing pneumonia by following four steps, including raising the head of the patient’s bed between 30 and 45 degrees. As a result of the implementation of these practices, there were 297 days between ventilator-associated pneumonias.
Preventing central line infections. CDH prevents patients who are receiving medicines and fluids through central lines from developing infections by following five steps, including proper hand washing and cleaning the patient’s skin with a type of soap called chlorhexidine. Between 2002 and 2003, the hospital implemented best practices for preventing central line infections. As a result of these improvements, there has only been one central line infection in the ICU in more than three years.
Preventing adverse drug events by reconciling medications. The hospital prevents medication errors by ensuring that accurate and continually updated lists of patients’ medications are referenced during their hospital stay, particularly at transition points such as a patient’s discharge from the hospital or a move within the hospital. CDH developed a yellow wallet card to assist the public in carrying a current list of medications with them at all times. This is a critical first step in preventing medication errors. Over the past 12 months, CDH has reduced the number of potential medication errors by 75{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}. Currently, the hospital discharges patients with individualized physician-generated medication lists and a yellow wallet card.
As a mentor hospital, Truesdell explained that “CDH experts are available to coach and mentor other hospitals across the United States who are implementing the 100K Lives interventions.” IHI has designated nearly 100 U. S. hospitals as Mentor Hospitals.
Initially launched in December 2004, the 100,000 Lives campaign is the first-ever national campaign that aims to enlist thousands of hospitals across the country in a commitment to implement changes in care. These changes have prevented avoidable deaths through the implementation of proven, evidence-based practices and procedures.
CDH continues to make progress in the other IHI initiatives, including establishing rapid-response teams; delivering reliable, evidence-based care to prevent deaths from heart attack; and reliably delivering the correct surgical care.
The other Massachusetts hospital to achieve mentor status in three of the six IHI initiatives is South Shore Hospital, located in Weymouth.
For more information about these and other quality improvement initiatives at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, call (413) 582-2421. The 3,000 hospitals participating in the IHI campaign are located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To learn more about the campaign or to see a full list of participating hospitals by state, visitwww.ihi.org/campaign.
