|
IHI.org has two types of Improvement Stories:
- IHI.org Stories that describe the changes and results in specific organizations.
- Improvement Project Reports from IHI.org users that describe improvement projects in their organizations.
We all learn from others' experiences testing and implementing changes in real settings — who should be on the team; what measures were tracked; which changes worked best or didn't work at all; and what lessons were learned.
Improvement Project Reports, submitted by IHI.org users, accelerate our learning. In the spirit of "all teach, all learn," we encourage you to share your Improvement Project Report with the IHI.org community. Please click the Submit an Improvement Report button below.
|
|
|
|
Evidence-Based Practices Reduce the Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Rate for ICU Patients
Lancaster General Hospital (Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA) reduced the ventilator-associated pneumonia rate for patients on mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) from 7.35 per 1,000 ventilator days in FY07 to 1.95 per 1,000 ventilator days in FY09 by implementing the IHI Ventilator Bundle, initiating multidisciplinary rounds and daily goals, and establishing a mobility protocol for ventilated patients.
|
Rapid Response Team Decreases Code Events and Unexpected Patient Deaths Outside the ICU
After deploying a Rapid Response Team and providing early interventions to a deteriorating patient, Rapid City Regional Hospital (Rapid City, South Dakota, USA) has improved the survival rate of patients who experienced an in-hospital cardiac and/or pulmonary arrest, decreased code events, and decreased unexpected deaths in patients who were admitted outside the intensive care unit.
|
Flexible ICU Visitation Hours Improve Family Involvement in Care
Flexible visiting hours in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Wheaton Franciscan-St. Joseph (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA) have resulted in improved staff and family relations and interactions, as well as in a positive change for families to visibly participate in care and better understand the patient condition.
|
Reducing Average Length of Stay on Mechanical Ventilation Using Bundles and Mobility
University of Rochester Medical Center (Rochester, New York, USA) targeted specific elements in the Ventilator and Central Line Bundles to increase compliance, thereby reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia, reducing catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs), and decreasing average length of stay. In addition, a mobility initiative helped the team achieve daily sedation interruption and development of a new bundle further reduced CRBSIs.
|
Maintaining Glucose Control in the ICU: Implementing Standard Order Sets Tailored for Specific Patient Populations
Stony Brook University Hospital (Stony Brook, New York, USA) successfully implemented standard order sets to maintain patient glucose control in its Surgical Intensive Care Unit, and then spread the standardized treatment to the Medical, Cardiac, and Pediatric ICUs by modifying the order sets for the specific patient populations.
|
Hospital Environmental Services Staff are Important Drivers of the Infection Control Agenda
Samaritan and Albany Memorial Hospitals (Troy and Albany, New York, USA) implemented interdisciplinary meetings, huddles, and focused infection control training to enlist Environmental Services staff as active participants in reducing infection control rates.
|
What Zero Looks Like: Eliminating Hospital-Acquired Infections
As much as public awareness of the problem has grown, most patients might still be surprised to learn that infections contracted during a hospital stay are a significant cause of death in the US. Learn how hospitals have significantly reduced their monthly hospital-acquired infection rates, some down to zero.
|
Improving ICU Care: Reducing Complications from Ventilators and Central Lines
To improve safety and reduce complications in the ICU, Cape Coral Hospital (Cape Coral, Florida, USA) focused on improving communication using multidisciplinary rounds and eliminating ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and central line-associated bloodstream infections (CL-BSI). The result was a significant decrease in these hospital -acquired infections as evidenced by 17 months without a VAP and 19 months without a CL-BSI.
|
Decreasing Harm to Patients by Standardizing Care
Northeast Health (Troy, New York, USA) decreased harm to patients by standardizing care, including implementation of the Central Line and Ventilator Bundles and formation of a Rapid Response Team.
|
Moving Toward Recovery
Conventional medical wisdom holds that physical activity is not an option for seriously ill patients tethered to life-saving equipment, and it is well-known that prolonged immobility causes severe and durable muscle weakness. Some hospital ICUs are demonstrating that ventilator patients can walk, even with breathing equipment and IV lines in place, and the activity benefits all aspects of their recovery.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
