Patient Safety: Healthcare- Associated Infection

Quality Improvement Activities

For questions and comments, please contact:
Sarah Keehner,
RN, BSN, CNN
Quality Improvement Director
skeehner@nw1.esrd.net (203) 285-1214
ACTION REQUIRED:
Please be aware of the dates associated with each activity.
Please complete the June Monthly Summary Report.
 
If you were unable to attend the June 5, 2018 NCC Bloodstream Reduction LAN call please review the recording as soon as possible.
Provider Resources :
Please review and share with all staff members responsible for cleaning and disinfecting dialysis stations.  Review facilities surface and disinfection policy and procedure and assure that they meet all CDC guidelines.
 

 


Please complete a minimum of 10 Surface Disinfections audits and enter results into NHSN.

Patient Resources :

Patient Education for reducing the use of long term catheters.

 

Hemodialysis Vascular Access options Flyer

 

Lifeline for a Lifetime: Planning for Your Vascular Access guide book

 

Educate patients on the importance of preserving their current vascular access with

 

It Only Takes A Minute to Save Your Lifeline

 
Patient Safety
Dear Provider,

Thank you to all the facilities involves in the Patient Safety Quality Improvement Activity. The Network has recently implement a new process to collect feedback form facilities involved in all quality improvement activities. At the end of each month the Network will provide facilities a link to complete a Monthly summary report. This is a place for facilities to provide feedback to the Network that can be shared with CMS.
 
On June 5, 2018  the National Coordinating Center hosted a Bloodstream Reduction Learning and Action Network call. For all facilities who were unable to attend, the link to the recording has been provided in this newsletter.  Please review the recording at your earliest convince.
 
The NCC focused the LAN activities around the importance of proper surface disinfection. Key components of disinfection are: 
  • Make sure you are using the correct cleaning product for the job
  • Making sure the product is being used as the way the label directs you to. 

In June 2017 Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released a survey and certification memo, which stated that as of July 2017, facilities will be cited for cleaning and disinfecting dialysis machine before a patient has left the station. Facilities should also ensure that all drain buckets are emptied and proper disinfected between treatments and all shared medical equipment must be disinfected after each use. Examples are 

  • Glucometers
  • Thermometers 
  • Stethoscopes  
Project Activities
  • Implement CDC core interventions
  • Complete NHSN training
  • Complete 10 surface disinfection audits and enter results into NHSN
  • Complete June's Monthly Summary Report
Long Term Catheter Reduction
 
The Network will be collecting bucketed long term catheter  data in the Monthly Summary Report. This data allows the Network to  monitor patient progression toward having a permanent vascular access placed, while at the same time collecting an accurate count of long term catheters that cannot be remove and are the patients only access option.
Facilities do not need to provide the Network with patient specific data, they must however provide the number of catheter that are currently in use in the facility and indicate how many cannot be removed and how many have place and indicate the number of patients referred to the vascular access surgeon.
Project Activities
  • Designate a vascular access coordinator
  • Complete Patient Safety Monthly Summary Report
Heath Information Exchange

Communications does not always happen in the same way for every facility. If your facility has developed an effective method of communicating with hospitals when a patient is admitted please share with the Network Quality Improvement Department. The Network would like to help promote and spread any best practices that are identified.
 
We Want to Hear from YOU!
Please contact the Quality Improvement Department if you have questions, comments, or specific barriers that you would like to address.