Bugs Can Be Busted: How to Prevent Hospital-Acquired Infections A Success Story of Norwegian American Hospital, Chicago, U.S.A, in Substantially Reducing Hospital-acquired Infection (HAI) Rates

Abstract

Siddiqui Tahseen Javed and Klein Jennifer

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) including Central Line -Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI), CatheterAssociated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI), Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, Clostridium difficle Infections (CDI), Surgical Site Infections (SSI), and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia (VAP) are among the most common and serious patient safety threats in the health care settings, which contribute to significant morbidity, mortali-ty, length of patient stay, and healthcare cost. To combat increasing number of HAI, Norwegian American Hospital (NAH), Chicago, Illinois, USA, strategically developed, and successfully implemented a HAI control and prevention initia-tive in 2013. As a result, NAH dramatically reduced its infection rates over the next several years and the trend continues to date. Guided by Gap analysis, driven by data, gathered from both internal and external sources, and supported by hospital leadership, NAH initiated a process of gradual and transformational re-forms, by engaging, educating and empowering all clinical and administrative staff, patients, their families and community, promoting a culture of mutual responsibility, incorporating best practic-es, integrating technology into clinical practices, developing electronic standing order- sets and nurse-driven protocols, creating hand hygiene, sepsis and sexually transmitted infections task forces, and antimicrobial stewardship program, NAH successfully managed to achieve and maintain high-quality standards of patient care and lower then national benchmarks HAI rates for the last four consecutive years (January 2016 to December 2019). Among the device-associated infections (CAUTI/CLABSI), we encountered only one CAUTI and no CLABSI in 2016, none in 2017, only one CAUTI and no CLABSIs in 2018 and only one CAU-TI and one CLABSI in 2019. Furthermore, our VAP rate remained zero, we had only one SSI in 2019 and the C. Difficle Infection rates have also been steadily declining since the implementation of new preventive measures. As a result, NAH received several recognition awards from the lo-Cal as well as national health organizations.

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