A Multi-disciplinary Approach to Hospital Wide Reduction in Hospital Onset C. Difficile Infection

ISSUE: Hospitals can better focus their efforts to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) if they identify specific areas for improvement. Ascension Health (AH), a system of more than 100 hospitals, is one of 26 Hospital Engagement Networks that led quality improvement efforts to reduce (HAIs) through Partnership for Patients. We evaluated the effect of work in 71 of its hospitals. PROJECT: We surveyed infection preventionists (IPs) at 71 Ascension Health hospitals to evaluate any changes after quality improvement opportunities and strategies to facilitate improvement efforts (process and outcome evaluation, feedback, and root cause analysis) were communicated and disseminated in 20122013 to prevent catheter associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI), ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), and surgical site infection (SSI). We compared the Results of a baseline survey in 2012 to the current survey Results in 2013. RESULTS: 64 (90%) IPs completed the survey. There were marked improvements in having established policies for urinary catheter use and care, the use of standardized processes to evaluate events related to device infections, and analyzing device infections by