Multi-team approach cuts pneumonia rates in half
Ventilator associated pneumonia, or VAP, is an unwelcome secondary infection that can occur after a patient is placed on a ventilator. VAP can prolong a patient’s hospital stay as well as add considerable cost to a hospital bill.

The staff at Deborah, committed to reducing VAP, has put a plan into place to attack the problem. The result has been a dramatic reduction in VAP rates, cutting them by more than 50 percent. In fact, Deborah had only 2.4 incidences of pneumonia per 1,000 ventilator days in 2005, down from 5.6 incidences per 1,000 ventilator days in 2004.

Deborah’s multi-team approach has included combining a number of techniques as well as adding practices to reduce these secondary infections. Because the Deborah team has been so successful, they are in great demand to share this information with healthcare professionals at other hospitals looking to cut these secondary infections in their facilities.

“This is tremendous news for us,” says John Hill, RRT, Co-Technical Director of Respiratory Care. “We’ve cut our VAP rates in half in one year because of our dedicated, proactive approach to this important issue.”

Infection Control Coordinator Bobbie Benz agrees. “Deborah is very proactive in incorporating a comprehensive overall program to identify and eliminate VAP.” Deborah patients on ventilators reap the benefits of greatly reduced probability of catching pneumonia, enhancing the overall quality of their recuperative care.