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Tip of the week: Focus on oral care to fight VAP

Infection Control Monitor, May 16, 2008

If your hospital is trying to reduce the rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), don’t forget to focus on good oral care of patients.

Proper dental hygiene is important in healthy individuals and is even more so in ventilator patients, says Sherry O’Bryan, RN, MSN, ICU manager at Owensboro (KY) Medical Health System the facility. As part of its VAP initiative, the facility began using 24-hour oral care kits, which include toothbrushes and other supplies, to help staff members care for the patients’ mouths. Staff members pick up a kit at midnight and put it in the patient’s room.

To learn more about ways to reduce VAP in your facility, go to www.hcpro.com/content/210696.cfm. The cost is $10. Briefings on Infection Control subscribers received this story with their subscriptions.

 

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