SPRINGFIELD - After a year of participation in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) landmark 100,000 Lives Campaign, the four inpatient hospitals of Crozer-Keystone Health System have made improvements in how patients are cared for when they’re most at risk for infection, complications and adverse outcomes. Initially launched in December of 2004, the 100,000 Lives Campaign is the first-ever national campaign to promote saving a specified number of lives in hospitals by a certain date (June 14, 2006) through the implementation of proven, evidence-based, practices and procedures.
Crozer-Keystone’s hospitals have implemented the following practices:
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Creating Rapid Response Teams that are activated at the first sign that a patient’s condition is worsening and may lead to a more serious medical emergency. These teams are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, Delaware County Memorial Hospital, Taylor Hospital and Springfield Hospital. The teams consist of a specially trained group of caregivers who share a common goal to reduce the number of patients that go into cardiac arrest.
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Preventing patients from dying of heart attacks by delivering evidence-based care, including appropriate administration of aspirin to prevent blood clots and beta blockers to prevent further heart attacks. Crozer-Keystone measures how its caregivers comply with the accepted protocols for treating heart attack patients. In the administration of aspirin and beta blockers at a patient’s arrival, for instance, Crozer-Keystone caregivers are consistently more than 95 percent compliant.
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Preventing medication errors by ensuring that accurate and continually updated lists of patients’ medications are referenced during their hospital stay, particularly at transition points. Crozer-Keystone has instituted a protocol in which a detailed list of a patient’s medications must be maintained and reviewed each time the patient moves to a different phase of care.
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Prevented patients who are receiving medicines and fluids through central lines from developing infections by following five steps, including proper hand washing and cleaning the patient’s skin with “chlorhexidine” (a type of soap).
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Preventing patients undergoing surgery from developing infections by following a series of steps, including the timely administration of antibiotics. In addition to collecting data about the health system’s efforts to follow these steps for the “100,000 Lives” campaign, Crozer-Keystone is also participating in several other projects aimed at reducing infections, including projects sponsored by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services through the state’s Quality Improvement Organization (QIO), and a regional project through The Healthcare Improvement Foundation. In the first nine months, overall compliance for Crozer-Keystone hospitals has increased from 68 percent to 83 percent.
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Prevent patients on ventilators from developing pneumonia by following four steps, including raising the head of the patient’s bed between 30 and 40 degrees. Through measurement and education at its four hospitals, Crozer-Keystone’s has achieved 98 percent compliance with these accepted protocols.
“Crozer-Keystone Health System’s top priority is providing quality health care that adheres to accepted clinical standards and maintains the safety and good health of our patients. That’s why we have been a proud participant in the 100,000 Lives Campaign,” says Joan K. Richards, president and chief operating officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System.
The accomplishments of the 100,000 Lives Campaign nationally include the enrollment of over 3,000 hospitals – comprising an estimated 85 percent of the acute care hospital beds in the country – and the creation of a national infrastructure of Campaign field offices that offer resources and support to participating hospitals throughout the United States.
“Crozer-Keystone routinely takes advantage of partnership opportunities such as the 100,000 Lives Campaign to build upon our quality initiatives in the system. We continually challenge ourselves to use evidence-based practices to improve the health and safety of our patients,” says Eileen Young, assistant vice president of Clinical Utilization and Outcomes.
“Hospitals are not only demonstrating a dedication to saving lives during the 100,000 Lives Campaign,” said Dr. Donald Berwick, President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). “They are also implementing important changes in health care delivery that will reduce preventable illness and death beyond the Campaign’s June 2006 deadline.”
The 3,000 hospitals participating in the Campaign are located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Please visit www.ihi.org/campaign to learn more about the Campaign or to see a full list of participating hospitals (by state). The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a not-for-profit organization leading the improvement of health care throughout the world. Founded in 1991 and based in Cambridge, MA, IHI is a catalyst for change, cultivating innovative concepts for improving patient care and implementing programs for putting those ideas into action.
Crozer-Keystone Health System, the largest employer and health care provider in Delaware County, provides a full spectrum of wellness, prevention, acute care, rehabilitation and restorative care to the community. The health system comprises a comprehensive physician network of primary-care and specialty practices as well as five hospitals and the HealthplexÒ Sports Club. Visit www.healthplex.net or call 1-800-CK-HEALTH for more information.