Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Rooting Out VAP and Variability with Intensivists

The Problem

Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a leading cause of death among all hospitalacquired infections. Hospital death rates for ventilated patients run between 24 and 50 percent. The condition increases length of critical care unit and hospital stays, adding about $40,000 to the typical hospital admission. While VAP rates in Saint Elizabeth's critical care unit were below national levels, hospital officials wanted to better care for its sickest adult patients, adopt nationally recognized standards for caring for critically ill patients and optimize throughput in the CCU.

The Solution

A patient-centered organization, Saint Elizabeth instituted an intensivist program and used the Institute for Healthcare Improvement ventilator bundle to reduce instances of VAP in the hospital's CCU.