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Minnesota hospitals receive award for reduced VAP rates

Patient Safety Monitor Alert, January 21, 2005

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The intensive care units (ICU) at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, MN, and Unity Hospital in Fridley, MN, are close to eliminating ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP), a costly and deadly infection among ICU patients, according to PR Newswire.

The Minnesota Hospital Association has awarded the hospitals-which are part of the Allina Hospitals and Clinics network-with the 2004 Patient Safety Award and the 2004 Patient Care Innovation Award.

Mercy and Unity ICU nurses, pharmacists, physicians, and respiratory therapists began using new practice guidelines in January 2003. As a result, VAP rates dropped by 50% at both hospitals.

The teams employed a group of five low-tech interventions to reduce the length of time a patient is on a ventilator. Known as a "ventilator bundle," the interventions include:

• giving all patients medication to prevent stress ulcers in the stomach and intestines
• giving all patients medication to prevent blood clots that can form during inactivity
• elevating the head of each patient's bed to prevent mouth secretions from flowing into the trachea
• having nurses check daily to see if patients are ready to be weaned from the ventilators, rather than waiting for physicians to make the call
• reducing medication dosages gradually each day, rather than removing patients' sedation medication all at once

The national benchmark for VAP is 6 infections per 1,000 ventilator days. Unity's recent rate for VAP is 0.85, while Mercy's is 2.4.

To read the PR Newswire press release, click here.

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