Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Reducing the Occurrence of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

In early 2010, Emerson Hospital board members, medical staff and executive leaders convened to address the goal of accomplishing a breakthrough patient safety aim–one which would target a dramatic reduction in preventable harm events. This quality improvement initiative at the Concord, Mass., hospital was assigned a three-year timeframe with a preliminary goal of achieving a 50 percent reduction in the number of hospital-acquired infections by the end of the first year. Since the initiative culminated, the hospital has maintained more than a 75 percent reduction in catheter-associated urinary tract infections.