The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) announced today the progress of the organizations enrolled in the 5 Million Lives Campaign, a national effort to help U.S. hospitals dramatically reduce incidents of avoidable medical harm. The Campaign asks hospitals to introduce up to 11 evidence-based healthcare interventions and to engage their trustees in the effort, in order to protect patients across the nation from 5 million incidents of medical harm over a 24-month period, ending Dec. 9, 2008. While the Campaign will continue for another six weeks and fuller reporting on progress will come after December, many hospitals participating in the effort have already dramatically improved the care patients receive, setting the stage for further progress.
Participation
To date, 4,030 hospitals across the nation have enrolled in the Campaign – approximately 80 percent of U.S. hospital beds. Highlights include:
· Participation from hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Every type of acute-care hospital is represented, including over 86 percent of the nation’s 2,000 rural hospitals.
· Eight states with 100 percent of acute care hospitals enrolled: Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington.
· 18 states with at least 90 percent of all acute care hospitals enrolled: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, and Washington.
