St. Luke's Monroe Campus among those recognized for exceptional patient safety

St. Luke's University Health Network hospitals — including the Monroe campus — made up over one-third of Keystone State hospitals recognized for exceptional patient safety by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania, the healthcare network announced Monday.

Eight of St. Luke's hospitals —the Monroe, Lehighton, Allentown, Anderson, Easton, Sacred Heart and Bethlehem campuses, along with Geisinger St. Luke's Hospital — appeared on the list of facilities for their "stellar performance ensuring patients' safety."

No other health system in Pennsylvania had anywhere near as many hospitals appear on the list.

“HAP is proud to recognize the hospital teams and leaders who demonstrated extraordinary work to protect patient safety— even as they were strained by the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic health care workforce crisis,” HAP President and CEO Andy Carter said. “These talented teams exemplify the commitment that all health care professionals make to ensuring patients receive safe and high-quality care.”

What are healthcare-associated infections?

According to HAP, the Excellence in Patient Safety Recognition program focuses upon highlighting hospitals that have "demonstrated low rates of healthcare-associated infections."

The CDC notes healthcare-associated infections are "infections that patients get while they are receiving healthcare or soon after receiving healthcare." While there are numerous examples of these infections, there are a few that tend to be more commonly reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Healthcare Safety Network.

Utilizing data from the NHSN — "the nation's most widely used healthcare-associated infection tracking system," according to the agency — HAP awards the honor to hospitals which perform better than the mean standardized infection ration in three key measures: central line-associated bloodstream infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and Clostridioides difficile infections.

Central line-associated bloodstream infections are serious infections that occur when germs, usually bacteria or fungi, enter the bloodstream through a central line — a catheter usually placed in a large vein in the neck, chest, or groin to give medication or fluids, or to collect blood for testing — the CDC states. Strict protocols for line insertion and stringent infection control practices during checks and changes to the dressing are pivotal to ensuring patient safety.

UTIs — any infection involving the urinary system, including the urethra, bladder, ureters, and kidneys — are the most common type of healthcare-associated infections reported to the NHSN, according to the CDC.

The predominant risk factor for developing a catheter-associated UTI is the prolonged use of a catheter; meaning health care providers need to be cautious about when and how long these practices are utilized.

Clostridioides difficile is noted as one of the leading causes of healthcare-associated infections across the country which has also been found increasingly throughout the community, the CDC notes. Most cases of the infection are associated with those taking antibiotics, or those who have just completed a course of antibiotics.

Patients 65 years of age and older, along with those who have recently spent time in a hospital or nursing home, those who have a weakened immune system, and patients who have previously been infected with the bacteria are at a higher risk of experiencing this infection.

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C. difficile bacteria forms spores which can survive for extended periods in the environment, including on surfaces, and can travel when healthcare workers touch those surfaces and proceed to treat patients.

The CDC stresses healthcare-associated infections "are a major, yet often preventable, threat to patient safety" which can lead to antimicrobial resistance, creating further issues with treatment.

Using information collected by the CDC and working with the agency, health care networks are able to utilize national research and resources to help combat healthcare-associated infections, and improve the safety of patients, with the "ultimate goal of eliminating HAIs," the CDC states.

“These awards are a credit to St. Luke’s outstanding leadership, providers, nurses and other hospital staff and volunteers,” St. Luke’s Chief Quality Officer Donna Sabol said. “Working together, we have achieved a level of excellence that benefits our entire region by ensuring that residents have access to world-class health care with the highest of safety standards.”

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: Monroe County's St. Luke's campus recognized for patient safety