Hospital-acquired infections can be serious and sometimes cause fatal complications. Preventing infections requires constant attention and implementing not one, but multiple strategies to prevent and treat.
“Wisconsin hospitals are preventing infections every day by following protocols and sharing best practices that help reduce and prevent hospital-acquired infections,” according to Beth Dibbert, WHA quality director.
Currently, 82 hospitals are working with WHA in the Hospital Improvement Innovation Network. Wisconsin hospitals are doing better than the national average in preventing central-line blood stream-associated infections, surgical site infections for abdominal hysterectomies and colon surgeries, and hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile infections.
“For more than a decade, Wisconsin hospitals have set competitive interests aside and have been working together to share best practices to improve quality in their hospitals,” according to WHA President/CEO Eric Borgerding. “WHA has facilitated these efforts, and we have encouraged and fostered practices and initiatives among our member hospitals that have led to greater transparency and measurable improvement.”
To learn more about Wisconsin hospital quality, visit WHA’s public reporting website: WiCheckPoint.org.