NASSAU UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER JOINS IHI’S 5 MILLION LIVES CAMPAIGN TO REDUCE MEDICAL HARM THROUGHOUT THE NATION

East Meadow, NY – 1/31/07 – Nassau Health Care Corporation today announced that it has joined the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s 5 Million Lives Campaign, a national campaign to dramatically reduce incidents of medical harm in U.S. hospitals. The 5 Million Lives Campaign asks hospitals to improve the care they provide in order to protect patients from five million incidents of medical harm over a 24-month period, ending December 9, 2008. It represents a continuation of the largest improvement effort undertaken in recent history by the health care industry.

The Campaign was formally unveiled on December 12, 2006 and has been endorsed by the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Nurses Association (ANA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

The 5 Million Lives Campaign builds upon the success of the 100,000 Lives Campaign, in which 3,100 participating hospitals, including Nassau University Medical Center, reduced inpatient deaths by an estimated 122,000 in 18 months through overall improvement in care, including improvement associated with six interventions recommended by the initiative. The new Campaign will promote the adoption of additional improvements in care that can save lives and reduce patient injuries.

“Striving to provide high quality care to our patients remains NUMC’s paramount goal.  Participating in the 5 Million Lives Campaign demonstrates our commitment to review and improve the quality of care that we provide for all our patients,” said Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO Of the Nassau Health Care Corporation.

IHI defines “medical harm” as unintended physical injury resulting from or contributed to by medical care (including the absence of indicated medical treatment) that requires additional monitoring, treatment or hospitalization, or results in death.

Nassau University Medical Center took part in the 100,000 Lives Campaign, focusing especially on rapid response teams interventions.  Evidence based care for acute myocardial infarction, preventing adverse drug events, central line infection, surgical site infections and ventilator associated pneumonia.

Nassau University Medical Center plans to implement and continue working on the following interventions as part of their participation in the 5 Million Lives Campaign:

– Reduce surgical complications…by reliably implementing the changes in care recommended by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)

– Prevent pressure ulcers…by reliably using science-based guidelines for prevention of this serious and common complication

– Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for congestive heart failure…to reduce readmissions

– Deploy Rapid Response Teams… at the first sign of patient decline – and before catastrophic cardiac or respiratory event.

– Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for acute myocardial infarction…to prevent deaths from heart attack.

– Prevent adverse drug events…by reconciling patient medications at every transition point in care.

– Prevent central line infections…by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps.

– Prevent surgical site infections…by following a series of steps, including reliable, timely administration of correct perioperative antibiotics.

– Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia…by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps. 

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (www.ihi.org) is a not-for-profit organization leading the improvement of health care throughout the world. Founded in 1991 and based in Cambridge, MA, IHI is a catalyst for change, cultivating innovative concepts for improving patient care and implementing programs for putting those ideas into action. Thousands of health care providers, including many of the finest hospitals in the world, participate in IHI’s groundbreaking work.

Nassau University Medical Center is a 631 bed Level I Trauma Center and teaching hospital serving a large population of uninsured, underinsured and Medicaid patients.