Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality among Veterans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) there were 722,000 HAIs in U.S. acute care hospitals in 2011, resulting in 75,000 deaths. Moreover, an Institute of Medicine study estimated the cost of these infections at 4.5 to 5.7 billion dollars per year at a per-patient cost ranging from $5,000-$50,000 per episode. Prevention of HAI is included in the VHA Blueprint for Excellence as preventable HAIs greatly impact patient safety through increased readmissions and mortality. For these reasons, the VA National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) has committed funding to create the Human-factors Engineering to prevent Resistant Organisms (HERO Center)located at the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison, WI. The first project will implement and evaluate an evidence-based intervention - daily chlorhexidine bathing of hospitalized Veterans for prevention of HAI. In Year two, investigators will use VHIN (VA Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Network) to assess current practices and needs related to HAI prevention in collaboration with VHIN partners across the VA healthcare system.
This Initiative will advance the agenda of the VA National Center for Patient Safety by:
Specific Aims of the Initiative also include:
Investigators will create a multi-disciplinary steering committee, including Veterans, as well as a repository of current practices in HAI prevention across VA. Once infrastructure is established, VHIN will serve as the platform for VA facilities seeking to undertake pragmatic implementation science initiatives related to HAI prevention. Although the initial focus will be on daily chlorhexidine bathing, the approach and methods used will serve as a framework for other HAI-prevention initiatives. For example, as optimal methods for implementing chlorhexidine bathing are determined they will be rapidly disseminated (using VHIN), thereby closing the gap between evidence and its practical use.
The National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) is part of the VA Quality, Safety & Value, which leads VA patient safety efforts, working to reduce and prevent the inadvertent harm to patients as a result of healthcare.
Principal Investigator: Nasia Safdar, MD, PhD; contact at Nasia.Safdar@va.gov .