Andalusia (Ala.) Regional Hospital reduced confirmed healthcare-associated infections by 75%—from 1.46% of admissions to 0.37%—from 2010 to 2011 after initiating a pilot program to monitor and improve hand hygiene in December 2010.
That achievement earned the hospital an honorable mention in the Patient Safety category in this year's Spirit of Excellence Awards.
The 87-bed acute-care facility wanted to not only reduce infections, ranging from colds to influenza to MRSA, but also save money, and Andulasia's efforts have equated to a $42,600 cost savings and a 48.4-day decrease in incremental length of stay.
To achieve the results, Andulasia used a product from Proventix Systems, a wireless technology that records when healthcare workers enter a patient's room, measures their behaviors related to hand hygiene, and electronically reports their rates of compliance.
Category winner Helen DeVos Children's Hospital and the other top entries in the Patient Safety category all had many of the same features, such as measurable goals, a well-defined focus and interdisciplinary teams, says judge Patricia Sanders-Hall.
“In order to get to quality, there are certain driving principles you have to have,” she says.
