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Many U.S. hospitals join campaign to prevent hospital deaths

Infection Control Monitor, May 13, 2005

Responding to pressure to report patient infection rates, many United States hospitals have joined a campaign to adopt new procedures and improve patient care, reports The Daily Star in Oneonta, N.Y.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement's "100,000 lives" campaign already has about one-third of United States hospitals on board, with more signing up each week.

The campaign's goal is to implement six medically-proven practices at each facility. One is the creation of rapid-response teams that nurses can notify when patients suddenly become very ill. Australia, which implemented similar procedures, reported a 27% drop in hospital death rates.

The campaign also includes medically-proven procedures for treating heart attacks and preventing surgical site infections, ventilator-associated pneumonia, and central-line infections.

Tens of thousands die each year as a result of medical errors in the United States alone.

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