Blue Shield of California Foundation Helps Hospitals Fight HAIs

SAN FRANCISCO -- Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) today announced it is dramatically expanding a nine-hospital pilot to include more than 50 hospitals across the state that are committed to saving hundreds of patient lives and millions of healthcare dollars by reducing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

All 55 hospitals will take part in an advanced learning collaborative staffed by infection prevention leaders from across the nation. Of those, 14 nonprofit hospitals will receive grants to help purchase state-of-the-art data-mining technology that allows for the early detection and rapid treatment of healthcare-associated infections. As previously announced on Feb. 26, BSCF will commit up to $4 million to fund the project.

In California, an estimated 150,000 patients suffer from HAIs annually, 9,000 of which result in death. By expanding its California Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Initiative (CHAIPI) over the next two years, BSCF aims to make significant reductions: 2,000 fewer patients contracting HAIs, 15,000 fewer patient hospital days, and $30 million in avoided costs to patients and hospitals.

“Our goal is to eliminate the human suffering and the additional healthcare costs that result from healthcare-associated infections,” said Crystal Hayling, BSCF president and CEO. “By promoting the use of new technologies and implementing state-of-the-art process improvements, we know we can absolutely reduce infections in patients across California and prevent millions of dollars in unnecessary costs.”

Krystin Dozier, RN, vice president of clinical effectiveness for the Sutter Health network, has seven Northern California hospitals participating in the expanded CHAIPI program because “it fits seamlessly with our longtime work toward eliminating infections and our commitment to continuously improving patient care.”

“Sutter Health is an early adopter of patient safety technologies, and the CHAIPI project provides more new tools and data that we can use to further advance our efforts. The opportunity to collaborate with other organizations across the state increases our ability to implement best practices even sooner and to save more lives,” Dozier said.

In 2005, BSCF sponsored the nine-hospital CHAIPI pilot program to determine if new technologies could help infection-control specialists track and prevent the spread of infection. During the course of the 18-month pilot, more than 600 infections were prevented, resulting in 4,640 fewer patient hospital days. BSCF estimates its initial $1 million investment in the CHAIPI pilot lowered costs of care by more than $9 million.

Nancy Pratt, senior vice president of clinical effectiveness for Sharp Health Care in San Diego, which has five hospitals participating in CHAIPI, believes the project provides a great collaborative opportunity for her team. “Improving patient outcomes is a priority for all of us,” Pratt said of the hospitals participating in the pilot. “Electronic tools will only make all of us more effective. We want to learn from anyone who has a good idea and share our ideas, as well.”

Faculty for the CHAIPI learning collaborative will be drawn from nationally recognized organizations including the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and California Institute for Health Systems Performance (CIHSP). The data mining technology is made available at reduced costs through Cardinal Health/MedMined.

Hospitals participating in CHAIPI II by region:

Butte County

Enloe Medical Center, Chico

Central Coast

Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, Santa Barbara

Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, Solvang

Central Valley

Central Valley General Hospital, Hanford

Clovis Community Medical Center, Clovis

Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno

Delano Regional Medical Center, Delano

Fresno Heart & Surgery Center, Fresno

Hanford Community Medical Center, Hanford

Lodi Memorial Hospital, Lodi

Oak Valley District Hospital, Oakdale

St. Agnes Medical Center, Fresno

Tehachapi Valley Healthcare District, Tehachapi

Greater Bay Area

Doctors Medical Center, Pinole

Healdsburg District Hospital, Healdsburg

Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Antioch

Kaiser Foundation Hospital, South San Francisco

Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Vallejo

O’Connor Hospital, San Jose

Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System, Santa Clara

Sonoma Valley Hospital, Sonoma

Sutter Delta Medical Center, Antioch

Sutter Solano Medical Center, Vallejo

Washington Hospital Healthcare System, Fremont

Greater Sacramento Area

Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital, Auburn

Sutter Davis Hospital, Davis

Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento

Sutter Roseville Medical Center, Roseville

Lake County

Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Lakeport

Los Angeles

Barlow Respiratory Hospital, Los Angeles

Beverly Community Hospital, Montebello

California Hospital Medical Center, Los Angeles

Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles

City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte

Garfield Medical Center, Monterey Park

Good Samaritan Hospital, Los Angeles

Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles

Huntington Hospital, Pasadena

Kaiser Foundation Hospital, Fontana

LAC & USC Healthcare Network, Los Angeles

Monterey Park Medical Center, Monterey Park

Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, Mission Viejo

San Gabriel Valley Medical Center, San Gabriel

UC Irvine Medical Center, Irvine

Victor Valley Community Hospital, Victorville

Whittier Hospital, Whittier

Mendocino County

Ukiah Adventist Hospital, Ukiah

Plumas County

Plumas District Hospital, Quincy

San Diego

Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, Chula Vista

Sharp Coronado Hospital, Coronado

Sharp Grossmont Hospital, La Mesa

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women, San Diego

Sharp Memorial Hospital, San Diego

Tri-City Medical Center, Oceanside

Source: Blue Shield of California Foundation