for NICU Infection Reduction AKRON CHILDREN’S EARNS NATIONAL AWARD
Award for ‘achievements in eliminating central line-associated bloodstream infections’ at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses’ 2011 National Teaching Institute & Critical Care Exposition in May. This national award was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Offi ce of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Offi ce of Healthcare Quality and the Critical Care Societies Collaborative.
T
HE AKRON CHI LDREN’ S Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) was honored with a Sustained Improvement
In 2007, Akron Children’s NICU
ident if ied bloodstream infect ion reduction as a focus area for improve- ment. At that time, the bloodstream infection rate for all infants was 10 percent. For infants 22-29 weeks gestation at birth — the most at-risk group — the rate was 31 percent. By 2009, the last year for which data is complete, Children’s NICU infection rate for all infants was down to 2.6 percent compared to a 5.2 percent national average, and for the most at-risk babies, 7.8 percent compared to 23.8 percent national average.
“We have visitors from other hos-
pitals coming to visit and see how we were able to accomplish this,” said Judy Ohlinger, improvement and research coordinator of the NICU. “What we learned about the importance of organizational culture and its role in improvement capabilities is still being practiced and refined in our unit today as demonstrated in the project.” It is estimated that each neonatal
bloodstream infection costs about $35,000 and adds about two weeks to a baby’s hospital stay. n
18 | Cleveland-Akron-Canton MD NEWS MDNEWS.COM JULY-AUGUST 2011
