RMH Recognized for MRSA Reduction Efforts | News | RMH Healthcare, Harrisonburg, VA

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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

RMH Recognized for MRSA Reduction Efforts

3:13 AM

Contact: Debra Thompson
Director, RMH Corporate Communications
540-564-5886

RMH has been recognized by national healthcare network VHA Inc. for its efforts to reduce the incidence of hospital-acquired infections, specifically Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

RMH is one of 13 hospitals in the VHA’s Central Atlantic region to be recognized for its efforts to improve patient care and reduce the incidence of MRSA infections. Since 2007, RMH has been a partner in the three-year VHA MRSA Prevention Initiative, launched to assist hospitals implementing methods to detect and treat MRSA and prevent its transmission to other hospitalized patients and staff.

In 2009, RMH reduced MRSA infection rates by 50 percent. In 2007-2008, the hospital averaged one to two MRSA infections per month; in 2009, that number decreased to one or less per month, including five months with none.

“RMH physicians and staff have done an exceptional job meeting this goal,” said Becky Brubaker, Infection Preventionist, RMH Infection Control and Prevention. “MRSA infections are difficult and expensive to treat if they develop, so this was a worthy mission for both the safety of our patients and the efficiency of our health care delivery.”

The action steps RMH implemented to reduce MRSA infections include placing all suspected and confirmed MRSA patients on contact precautions; ensuring co-workers, family and visitors wear gown and gloves prior to entering patient rooms; cleaning and disinfecting patient medical equipment between use and always modeling good hand hygiene.

RMH Infection Control and Prevention staff submits MRSA infection data to VHA monthly, Brubaker noted.

“RMH Healthcare has demonstrated a significant commitment to patient safety through its infection prevention efforts, which improve the quality of care while also reducing costs,” said Terri Bowersox, director of performance improvement for VHA’s Central Atlantic region. “Hospitals across the nation would benefit from looking at RMH’s performance and mimicking their work.”

Bowersox noted that one of the most essential elements to sustaining superior clinical quality levels is commitment and a willingness by the nurses and physicians in the organization to learn from the best practices that are in place in other high performing hospitals. “RMH gets high marks for both these success factors,” she noted.

VHA, a national network of not-for-profit health care organizations, serves more than 1,400 hospitals and more than 28,000 non-acute care providers nationwide.