Preventing infections is a cornerstone of patient safety, producing better outcomes and long-term recovery rates. That’s why Temple Health’s recent infection prevention milestones—one year without a CLABSI (central line-associated bloodline infection) at Chestnut Hill Hospital and one year without a knee/hip replacement, hysterectomy, or colorectal surgical site infection at Jeanes Campus—are so significant.
“Achieving zero CLABSIs on all units for an entire year is unprecedented,” explains Kimberly Talley, MSN, RN, CRNP, CNML, LSSGB, FABC, Chestnut Hill Hospital’s Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer. “This reflects a phenomenal level of commitment from nurses, providers, and the entire organization.”
“Our OR, perioperative, and post-acute nursing and ancillary teams’ dedication made this possible,” says Jennifer Sedor, BSN, RN, CNOR, Director of Surgical Services at Jeanes Campus. “They’re extremely patient-focused, and they really took these initiatives to heart.”
“Infection prevention is all about a hospital's culture,” agrees Kevin Smith, MPH, MBA, CIC, CHEP, Director of Infection Prevention and Control at Temple Health. “It means seeing these enhancements as everyone’s responsibility.”
A Commitment to Best Practices
Both Jeanes Campus and Chestnut Hill Hospital committed to a number of infection prevention best practices that have been critical to their success.
“Physicians review all their order sets to ensure instructions and patient criteria are met,” Sedor says. “We’ve also emphasized patient education around appropriate pre-surgery prep, and enhanced our protocols on everything from dressing changes to OR traffic flows.”
“We’ve implemented a daily morning huddle for nursing leaders to review every patient with a catheter or a central line,” says James Helstrom, MD, MBA, Chief Medical Officer of Chestnut Hill and Fox Chase Cancer Center. “Because the best way to prevent CLABSIs is to remove these devices as soon as possible, physicians and nurses are constantly rounding to monitor whether they’re still necessary for a patient’s care. We’ve also standardized our infection prevention procedures, ensuring alignment across the Health System.”
Patient Safety as Highest Priority
“This milestone speaks to our commitment to providing patients with the highest quality care,” Sedor explains. “Many of our patients are coming in for total joint replacements, and if they had to return for revisions or replacements due to infection, they wouldn’t get that enhanced quality of life they wanted. By preventing infections, we can speed up their recoveries and ensure better outcomes in the long run.”
“I always tell our nurses, ‘You should be providing our patients with the same level of care you’d want for your spouse, child, or grandparent,’” Talley adds. “All our patients are someone’s loved ones, and their safety is our highest priority.”
“At Jeanes Campus, we always put our patients first, and our team members are the reason we offer such exceptional care,” says Matt Shelak, OTR, MBA, FACHE, Jeanes’ Executive Director. “We’ve achieved these milestones because of their dedication to infection prevention best practices, and they deserve the highest praise for their hard work.”
“I’m proud of the ongoing efforts of our medical staff, residents, nurses, and other clinical professionals, who have all been focused on improving the quality of care we provide to our community,” says Richard Newell, MPT, DPT, President & CEO of Chestnut Hill Hospital. “It’s taken a focused approach to improve the processes we have enacted at Chestnut Hill to reduce hospital acquired infections. The team has embraced the challenge, and has strong results to show for it. The ultimate winners are the patients who choose Chestnut Hill, because they can be confident we’ll take excellent care of them.”