Patient Safety Video Showcases Efforts of California Hospitals to Improve Quality, Safety of Care

Hospital Case Studies Can Be Found at www.CaringisourCalling.org

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Oct. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Every year, more than 50,000 sick or premature babies are delivered in California's community hospitals.  Typically, these vulnerable infants have immature immune systems and are at risk for acquiring infections.  To address this problem, Riverside County Regional Medical Center in 2009 implemented a new program to eliminate infections in its neonatal unit.  As a result, the hospital has reduced its annual infection rate to zero and saved the lives of countless newborns.  

Riverside County Medical Center is one of three hospital "case studies" featured in a new 4-minute video now available on the California Hospital Association's (CHA's) new patient safety website – www.CaringisourCalling.org.

"Hospitals across California are making huge strides in improving the quality and safety of patient care through focused initiatives based on best practices," said CHA President/CEO C. Duane Dauner.  "Health care professionals know that quality improvement is an ongoing, continuous process.  By sharing these case studies, we hope to advance the knowledge of clinicians and the public alike."  

Based on evidence-based practices, clinicians at Riverside County Medical Center are using sterile gloves and surgical masks when working with babies needing central IV lines to deliver medications and nutrition.  They also are using special tubing to reduce the number of times a line needs to be handled. These efforts are highlighted in the video.

Two other case studies – both focusing on the reduction of a serious infection called sepsis – also are featured in the video.  Physicians from Sharp HealthCare in San Diego and Kaiser Permanente Northern California share their efforts to reduce sepsis mortality through early identification and rapid treatment interventions.  

In addition to the patient safety video, the website highlights patient safety case studies from nearly a dozen hospitals throughout California.  Daughters of Charity Health System, Catholic Healthcare West and the University of California San Francisco's Integrated Nursing Leadership Program all are featured for their ongoing work to reduce sepsis.

Other organizations showcased on the website are Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and Adventist Health, both of which have seen dramatic improvements in preventing central line-associated bloodstream infections; Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, each of which has made great strides in reducing patient falls; and White Memorial Medical Center in Los Angeles and Sutter Health, which have implemented targeted strategies for preventing pressure ulcers.  

The CaringisourCalling.org website also feature's a 60-second TV ad, which CHA is airing statewide through October.  The ad, which is in both English and Spanish, is designed to inform the public about the efforts hospitals are making to ensure safer care and to empower patients and visitors to help in this effort.

"Every hospital is working to eliminate preventable infections," Dauner noted, "but it is a shared responsibility - involving doctors, nurses, hospital employees, patients and visitors alike."

Dauner noted that the ad serves as a reminder from hospitals that everyone should get an annual flu vaccine and the importance of hand hygiene in preventing the spread of infections.

CHA, based in Sacramento, is the statewide leader representing the interests of more than 450 hospitals and health systems in California.

SOURCE California Hospital Association