NUMC REACHES MILESTONE; NO BLOOD STREAM INFECTIONS IN MEDICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR ONE YEAR
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 8, 2011
PRESS CONTACT:
Shelley Lotenberg
shelley@numc.edu
516-572-6055
NUMC REACHES MILESTONE; NO BLOOD STREAM INFECTIONS IN MEDICAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT FOR ONE YEAR
EAST MEADOW, NY… Arthur A. Gianelli, President/CEO of the NuHealth System, announces that the multi-disciplinary patient care team of the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) at Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC) has reached a milestone in patient care, with the unit celebrating one year without central line associated blood stream infection (CLABSI).
“Congratulations to the NUMC’s MICU team upon achieving such an important milestone in eliminating central line associated blood stream infections over the entire year for our MICU patients. It is quite an accomplishment,” stated Gianelli. “The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) reports that 48% of ICU patients have central venous catheters and that the case fatality rate for catheter-related BSIs approaches 20%. This equates to between 3,000 – 4,000 U.S. patients annually dying due to blood stream infections. NUMC adopted the use of the IHI Central Line Bundle elements to achieve compliance and decrease blood stream infections.”
Kathy Skarka, NuHealth’s chief nursing officer, added: “We are so proud of our MICU staff for championing such a successful initiative for the benefit of our patients. Five components of central line care were determined to be critical to this initiative: staff competency, appropriateness of central line site, duration of central line placement, access for blood draws, and line maintenance.”
NuHealth’s executive vice president for medical affairs, Steven J. Walerstein, MD, FACP, expressed his pride in the MICU staff: “You are to be congratulated for your commitment and hard work in reducing central line associated blood stream infections. Nursing and medical leadership championed this initiative and it became a priority for the institution. At the bedside, both nurses and physicians took professional accountability for reducing CLABSIs.”
At the announcement, MICU nurse manager, Nina Gavin, RN commented: “This success would not have been possible without the nurses and doctors working together as a team to decrease CLABSIs and improve patient care.”
Photo from left to right:
Sitting: Dr. J. Igbal, MICU Attending, Antonia Gavan, RN, Nurse Manager, Lilly Christiansen, PCA
Standing: Karen McGlynn, RN, Deputy VP of Nursing, Dr. A. Multz, Dept of Medicine Chairman, Camille Persaud, RN, MICU, Donna Sehlhoff, RN, MICU, Renny Francis, RN, MICU, Shannon Costello, RN, MICU
Back Row: Kevin Cardi, RN, MICU, Linda Condon, RN, Director of Critical Care, Robert Brown, RN, MICU
ABOUT NUHEALTH
NuHealth is a Long Island health care organization delivering essential medical care and disease and lifestyle management to everyone at every stage of life. Also known as Nassau Health Care Corporation, NuHealth is a public benefit corporation managing the operations of Nassau Medical Center, A. Holly Patterson Extended Care and a network of Family Health Centers that bring primary and specialty care out into the community. By emphasizing wellness, cultural sensitivity and collaborative efforts with the North Shore-LIJ Health System, NuHealth is working to make good care more affordable and easier to access.
For more information about NuHealth or its Centers of Care, visit www.nuhealth.net.
