The PSQH Innovation Awards recognize healthcare organizations that overcame patient safety or quality improvement challenges in 2022. This year’s winning submission is from Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital on how it revamped process workflows to reverse hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) trends.
“The Quality HAI Team has been able to accomplish much without additional resources and limited staffing given the post-COVID staffing and clinical environment,” says Karen Vargas, regional director of quality, patient safety, and regulatory compliance.
The fifth annual PSQH Innovation Awards, hosted by the eponymous news publication, recognize healthcare organizations that overcame patient safety or quality improvement challenges in 2022. This year’s winning submission is from Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital in Saginaw, Michigan.
After noticing that efforts to curtail HAIs weren’t effective, leaders at Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital realized changes were needed to turn the tide. The team was able to create a process workflow to address HAIs, and the results have been impressive.
The team’s efforts have resulted in the following actual/FYE projected reduction in the total number of HAIs from fiscal year (FY) 2022 to FY 2023:
- CLABSI: 71% reduction
- MRSA: 75% reduction
- CAUTI: 50% reduction
- diff: 67% reduction
“The Quality HAI Team has been able to accomplish much without additional resources and limited staffing given the post-COVID staffing and clinical environment,” says Karen Vargas, regional director of quality, patient safety, and regulatory compliance for Ascension St. Mary’s Hospital. “Given the work at hand impacts patient outcomes, the existing leaders and clinical team were motivated to accept additional responsibilities to drive the outcomes.”
The winner was announced as part of Patient Safety Awareness Week, March 13–17, 2023. In addition to the winning submission, there were two honorable mentions: Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, Florida, and Northwell Health in Port Jefferson, New York.
To read the full article, click here or visit https://www.psqh.com/innovation-awards.
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