Recently, Kona Community Hospital leadership and employees recognized the Intensive Care Unit’s success in the area of infection prevention. The ICU has been free of central line blood stream infections and ventilator associated pneumonia infections for more than three years.
Recently, Kona Community Hospital leadership and employees recognized the Intensive Care Unit’s success in the area of infection prevention. The ICU has been free of central line blood stream infections and ventilator associated pneumonia infections for more than three years.
This record of infection management is the result of ongoing collaboration between the ICU, the respiratory therapy department and hospital physicians.
During a celebratory presentation, Infection Control Director Lisa Downing presented all three groups with certificates of recognition.
The impact to patients at KCH and to the community can be measured in layman’s terms.
The intensive care unit has not experienced a central line blood stream infection in more than 1,420 days. This means that roughly seven patients avoided this infection, which has a mortality rate of up to 25 percent. This also equals a savings of approximately $100,000 and over 90 unnecessary patient days.
Likewise, the ICU has not had a ventilator associated pneumonia infection for over 1,117 days. This equals roughly 13 patients who have avoided the infection, which has a mortality rate of 50 percent. The resulting savings is approximately $260,000 and 170 unnecessary patient days.
Beginning in 2009, hospital staff implemented a variety of new strategies and policies to prevent health care associated infections.
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