NURS FPX 8030 Assessment 1 Building the Case for Healthcare Improvement

Name

Capella university

NURS-FPX 8030 Evidence-Based Practice Process for the Nursing Doctoral Learner

Prof. Name

Date

Building the Case for Health Care Improvement

[Slide 1] Hi to everyone! I am Felicia. Today, I will underline the serious problem of Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) at Memorial Regional Hospital. I emphasize the increased occurrence of HAIs, validated by external studies and internal evidence, and provide Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) solutions to improve results and patient security.

Presentation Outline

[Slide 2] During this presentation, I will discuss the following points:

Hospital Acquired Infections as a patient safety issue
External resources supporting the necessity of change
Priorities of organization for HAI prevention intervention
Quality Improvement (QI) project proposal

Patient Safety Issue

[Slide 3] In advanced care settings, HAIs are a critical security issue in worldwide medical systems, particularly at Memorial Regional Hospital. The growing frequency of HAI in Intensive Care Units (ICU) of US hospitals has raised mortality and morbidity among patients while also imposing an immense cost on the hospitals (Gidey et al., 2023). Higher HAI rate, notably Central-Line Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI) at 25% and Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI) at 29%, compromises patients’ health (Teja et al., 2021).

For example, inserting a nonsensitized catheter can result in infection and related issues like fever, pain, and even sepsis. It necessitates extra therapies, resulting in postponed recovery, so resolving HAI issues has become a top priority. Gidey et al. (2023), emphasize the enormity of patient security risk; in America, the direct yearly expense of caring for HAIs is $ 28.5 to $ 45.1 billion, which strains the medical system. Patients in ICUs are 5 to 10 times more likely to develop an HAI because of internal variables such as immunodeficiency and external aspects like medical instrument use, impacting patient safety (Teja et al., 2021). So, it is necessary to manage HAI to boost outcomes.

NURS FPX 8030 Assessment 1 Building the Case for Healthcare Improvement

[Slide 4] Patients in ICUs are in danger of HAI owing to the widespread use of invasive treatments and equipment, immunodeficiency, comorbidities, vulnerability, and advanced age. In the United States, 30% of all HAIs happen in the ICU (Blot et al., 2022). Internal data on HAIs, obtained through surveys and dashboard analysis, revealed that 30% of ICU patients experience HAIs. CLASBI and CAUTI cause around 25% of patients to die within a year.

Through staff interviews, it is revealed that inadequate HAI prevention practices are followed. One-third of the patients admitted to the ICU face severe complications due to HAIs. Further, the survey reported that in 2023, HAIs are prevalent in Memorial Regional Hospital; the rate of CLASBI is 0.553 per 1,000 central-line days, showing worse performance, and the CAUTI rate is 0.926 per 1,000 catheter days. These severe infections can cause other complications, requiring more recovery time, and can often lead to mortality, compromising patient safety (Leapfrog, 2024).

External Sources Support for Need of Change

[Slide 5] External resources support the necessity of change in the hospital to avoid HAIs. A peer-reviewed study by Haque et al. (2020), highlights the effect of HAIs on critical care and emphasizes the need for effective approaches to prevent HAIs. These practices include hand hygiene, sustaining a clean atmosphere, staff education, adhering to patient security protocol, and Antimicrobial Stewardship, as well as reducing the chances of HAIs. Another source is the Center for Disease Prevention and Control’s (CDC) HAI report, which underscores the necessity for improved HAI control.

The CDC discovered an alarming nationwide pattern: On a single day, almost one in every 31 hospitalized individuals had one HAI. Annually, over 680,000 HAIs occur, and 72,000 hospitalized patients die due to HAIs during hospital stays (CDC, 2024). The rise in damage to patients is directly linked to the issues observed at Memorial Regional Hospital, particularly in the ICU. The CDC report underlines the crucial need for EBP solutions to address HAI. Evidence from these two resources is closely pertinent to the issue of HAI in Memorial Regional Hospital, where 0.553 scores for CLASBI and 0.926 for CAUTI were identified in 2023. Executing EBP solutions can boost patient security and outcomes in hospitals.

Organizational Priority for Intervention

[Slide 6] HAI prevention is a top focus at Memorial Regional Hospital due to its major impact on patient security, health results, and clinical costs. Vital stakeholders like hospital executives, clinical staff, and nurses are concerned about resolving the HAI issue. It leads to more operating expenses, potential legal consequences, lower reimbursements and funding, and hospital penalties for higher HAI incidents. For example, the suffering due to HAI causes prolonged hospital stays, additional care procedures due to complications, and more usage of antibiotics, raising clinical costs.

Poor health outcomes due to HAI, like CAUTI, can result in serious repercussions, such as organ failure or disability, morbidity, and even death (Blot et al., 2022). Communities and patients are concerned about resolving HAI as they want secure and quality care. The higher HAI events erode their trust in staff and the hospital. It is crucial to address the HAI issue to sustain patient safety, trust, and hospital credibility.

Proposal of Quality Improvement Project

[Slide 7] The intended result of HAI intervention at Memorial Regional Hospital is a significant reduction in the rate of HAIs and associated complications like death. This can be accomplished by employing comprehensive, EBP multifaceted HAI avoidance approaches such as patient safety procedure adherence, environmental and hand hygiene, risk assessment, and staff training (Haque et al., 2020). The goal is to minimize HAIs and linked complications by 55% while meeting present criteria and national standards. Reducing HAI will boost patient results, security, and HAI-linked clinical costs.

[Slide 8] The impact of the QI effort is multifaceted, including enhanced health results, greater patient and staff satisfaction, and reduced clinical expenses. Blot et al. (2022) illustrated that effective EBP solutions like staff education and hygiene procedures can reduce HAIs and related complications. For example, environmental hygiene practices like surface sanitation and cleaning, waste handling, sterilization, and equipment reconditioning can lower the rate of HAIs (Peters et al., 2022). Memorial Regional Hospital can strengthen its status as a renowned clinical group by implementing these methods to improve its care quality and patient security.

Conclusion

[Slide 9] Incorporating EBP HAI reduction solutions in Memorial Regional Hospital is critical for boosting patient security, saving medical costs, and maintaining its credibility. By tackling the significant increase in HAI-related problems with focused initiatives, Memorial Regional Hospital can reduce HAI rates, resulting in better health results and patient satisfaction. The proposed QI program, founded on internal data and external studies, underlines the critical need for enhanced HAI mitigation approaches.

References

Blot, S., Ruppé, E., Harbarth, S., Asehnoune, K., Poulakou, G., Luyt, C. E., & Zahar, J. R. (2022). Healthcare-associated infections in adult intensive care unit patients: Changes in epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention and contributions of new technologies. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 70, 103227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2022.103227

CDC. (2024). HAIs: Reports and data. Centers for Disease Prevention and Control.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/healthcare-associated-infections/php/data/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/hai/data/portal/index.html

Gidey, K., Gidey, M. T., Hailu, B. Y., Gebreamlak, Z. B., & Niriayo, Y. L. (2023). Clinical and economic burden of healthcare-associated infections: A prospective cohort study. Plos One, 18(2), e0282141. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0282141

Haque, M., McKimm, J., Sartelli, M., Dhingra, S., Labricciosa, F. M., Islam, S. & Charan, J. (2020). Strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections: A narrative overview. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 13(2020). 1765-1780. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S269315