Verathon, maker of BladderScan bladder volume ultrasound, provides new, free CAUTI prevention educational materials online to help nurses and infection preventionists reduce catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

News provided by

Verathon Inc.

Jul 30, 2012, 11:30 ET

BOTHELL, Wash., July 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Verathon® Inc. announced today new free, online CAUTI prevention educational materials for healthcare providers at http://verathon.com/products/bladderscan/cauti-zero.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061011/SFW044LOGO)

These comprehensive materials include an easy-to-remember CAUTI bundle in poster and animated form, instructional videos with Diane Newman, a renowned expert on urinary issues, an interactive timeline with facts and figures on CAUTI, and additional downloadable educational materials for use by those working to lower and eliminate catheter-associated UTIs in their facilities.

Lowering the high cost of CAUTI.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the direct medical costs of treating healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in the United States is as high as $45 billion per year.1

Catheter-associated UTIs, the most common HAI, represent 36% of total HAIs.  Because CAUTIs have been a prevalent patient safety issue, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in October 2008 issued a new regulation to end reimbursement for the additional costs incurred from preventable CAUTI.2 

A national hospital survey, administered by the University of Michigan, examined prevention practices in use between 2005 and 2009. While CAUTI prevention practices remain inadequate, the only practice used by 50% or more of the hospitals was portable bladder volume ultrasound.3

Helping nurses meet the CAUTI challenge.

As the manufacturer of BladderScan® portable bladder volume ultrasound instruments, Verathon is proud to play a key role in supporting CAUTI prevention education that can help nurses and infection prevention staff eliminate unnecessary urinary (Foley) catheterization and reduce costs.

"The Joint Commission has made CAUTIs a 2012 National Patient Safety Goal," states CAUTI expert Diane K. Newman, DNP FAAN BCB-PMD.  "Increasing awareness of best practices for minimizing catheterization and ensuring early Foley catheter removal clearly helps promote safe patient care, while reducing costs from unnecessary catheter-associated UTIs."

To help nurses meet this National Patient Safety Goal, Verathon is providing the following free educational tools online to help raise awareness about CAUTI prevention practices:

On the front line of CAUTI prevention.

Verathon and UroToday, the leading global urological disease-focused online resource, launched the CAUTI Center in December 2009 to provide access to the latest commentary from CAUTI expert Diane Newman, as well as recent publications and experiences from those in the CAUTI treatment community. Today, that center, now known as The CAUTI Challenge, has become a definitive source of CAUTI prevention information for practitioners.

"UroToday is extremely proud of The CAUTI Challenge effort," says Gina Carithers, CEO of UroToday and Publisher of UroToday International Journal. "UroToday, Diane Newman and the team at BladderScan, are steadfastly committed to providing the best educational tools to assist healthcare professionals in reducing, and ultimately eliminating, dangerous and costly catheter-associated urinary tract infections."

About Verathon Inc.

Verathon designs and manufactures reliable, state-of-the-art medical devices and services that offer a meaningful improvement in patient care to the healthcare community. The company's noninvasive BladderScan® instrument is a standard of care for portable bladder volume measurement. The brand is found in over 60 countries in Acute Care, Urology and Primary Care practices, as well as Extended Care facilities. With the January 2006 acquisition of Saturn Biomedical Systems in Vancouver, Canada, Verathon entered Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Emergency markets with the GlideScope® video laryngoscope brand. Verathon is headquartered in Bothell, Washington and operates as a subsidiary of Roper Industries. For more information, please visit verathon.com.

About Roper Industries

Roper Industries is a market-driven, diversified growth company and is a constituent of the S&P 500, Fortune 1000, and the Russell 1000 indices. Roper provides engineered products and solutions for global niche markets, including water, energy, transportation, medical, education, and SaaS-based information networks.  Additional information about Roper Industries is available on the Company's website at roperind.com.

Verathon Media Contacts:  Lorraine Silva, Director - Marketing Operations, Verathon Medical, 425.867.1348 (Ext. 5604).  Alternate Contact:  Jane Mueller, VP of Marketing, 425.867.1348 (Ext. 5600). 

BladderScan, GlideScope, GVL, the GlideScope symbol, Verathon, and the Verathon Torch symbol are registered trademarks of Verathon Inc.
© 2012 Verathon Inc.

References:  1.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009) The direct medical costs of healthcare associated infections in U.S. hospital and the benefits of prevention. Available at: http://cautichallenge.com/images/stories/files/Scott_CostPaper-20120127171513.pdf. Accessed on February 14, 2012. 2. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Web site. Available at: http://www.cms.gov . Accessed on October 20, 2011. 3. Krein SL, Kowalski CP, Hofer TP, et al. Preventing hospital-acquired infections: a national survey of practices reported by U.S. hospitals in 2005 and 2009. J Gen Intern Med 2011. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22143455  Accessed January 5, 2012.

SOURCE Verathon Inc.

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