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Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, Minn., stands out among its peers. The 271-bed hospital, part of Allina Hospitals and Clinics, has nearly wiped out cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) among its intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Multidisciplinary teamwork is especially critical as hospitals are increasingly following evidence-based practices and care improvement campaigns.

The oncology unit at Seton Medical Center Austin, located in Austin, Texas, a member of Ascension Health, has achieved remarkable results reducing central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs).  Since 2008, CLABSIs have decreased by 65 percent; the combined central venous catheter (CVC) infection rates have plummeted to lower than the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) pooled mean; the units rate for combined line types (tunneled and non-tunneled catheters) is 1.1 per 1,000 line days, versus CDC NHSNs pooled means of 1.9 per 1,000 for non-tunneled and 3.2 per 1,000 for tunneled catheters. Setons low rate is all the more significant since it represents infections among high-risk cancer patients. Infection Control Today talked to Sandra Miller, MHSM, RN, NE-BC, director of oncology, pulmonary and renal services at Seton Austin, to learn more about this achievement.

Barbara E. Murray, MD, professor and director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) Medical School, has been elected to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).