HOSPITAL WELCOMES PHC-4 INFECTION REPORT HIGHLIGHTING PREVENTION PRACTICES

Monongahela Valley Hospital’s ongoing efforts in Quality Improvement and Patient Safety are evidenced in the recently released 2005 Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) report, the first hospital-specific report on hospital-acquired infections in the nation. The report identifies the actual number of infections reported by Pennsylvania’s 168 individual hospitals, as well as other related quality of care measures.

“This hospital-specific report demonstrates Pennsylvania’s robust commitment to reducing these serious, costly and largely preventable infections. It is yet another example of how Pennsylvania, in collaboration with its hospital community leads the nation in patient safety, public reporting and health care transparency,” said Marc P. Volavka, Executive Director of PHC4.

At Monongahela Valley Hospital, Louis J. Panza Jr., President and CEO, said the report “emphasizes the strong program we have here at MVH as evidenced by our low, overall infection rates.”

Panza also noted that patient safety, especially in the area of infections, has “always been a major priority” at Monongahela Valley Hospital.

Donna Ramusivich, Senior Vice President at MVH added, “Thanks to our aggressive Infection Control Program, our overall numbers are very low. The hospital has had a formal infection control program for more than 30 years. We possess dedicated infection control resources including a medical director who is board certified in infectious disease and we are honored to have two nationally-recognized ‘Heroes” of infection prevention on our staff, Kathy Liberatore, RN and Penny Wright, RN. Through our resources, we also offer many community-based education programs on infection prevention in an effort to maintain health and avoid illness.”

“Years ago MVH initiated procedures to decrease all types of infections included in this report,” Ramusivich continued. “We purchased special urinary catheters that reduce the risk of infection and established a multi-disciplinary care team to investigate and adopt new methods to care for patients on ventilators. The Hospital worked with the surgeons to timely administer prophylactic antibiotics to reduce surgical site infections and bought a different product for skin prepping that decreases bacteria on the skin prior to insertion of central lines and bought clear dressings so that we could constantly monitor those patients for infection potential.

“ Kathy Liberatore, RN, Infection Control Manager, said the success of the infection control program at MVH “lies in the hands of each person who works here.” We also have followed The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) national guidelines for many years. These guidelines have been implemented by the Infection Control Program through many quality initiatives.

Sodexho Health Care Services and Modern Healthcare magazine recently honored MVH with a Spirit of Excellence Quality Honorable Mention Award. In addition, the award emphasized that the number of surgical-site infections was reduced considerably over the past three years resulting in improved care for MVH patients. MVH received an award check of $1,500 as a national honoree.

Mrs. Liberatore and Ms. Wright were two of only 12 national recipients of the Heroes of Infection Prevention award given by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology in Washington, D.C.

The Harvard Business Review also recognized MVH as one of four hospitals in the Pittsburgh region that have “instituted a plethora of small process enhancements that together added up to a dramatic improvement” in their quest to eliminate central line-associated bloodstream infections.

Ramusivich summed up the PHC-4 report as “a great opportunity to point out the good things we do here at MVH to reduce hospital acquired infections and to highlight the safe, high-quality care provided by our doctors, nurses and other caregivers to the patients we serve.”