November 17, 2007 As of November 1, CVMC’s Davis Special Care Unit (intensive care) has gone 365 days without a case of ventilator acquired pneumonia (VAP).
Central Vermont Medical Center has a culture of continuous quality improvement which manifests itself in specific initiatives like this one to eradicate VAP, the leading cause of death nationally from hospital-acquired infections.
“We are able to achieve and sustain significant national patient safety goals as part of our participation in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 100K Lives campaign with vigilant implementation of evidence-based practices,” stated Chief Nursing Officer Helen Spring. “Even though the data shows we previously had very low rates of VAP, this achievement takes our care to the next level of excellence.” According to resources provided by IHI, “Hospital mortality of ventilated patients who develop VAP is 46 percent compared to 32 percent for patients who do not develop VAP. VAP prolongs time spent on the ventilator, length of ICU stay and length of hospital stay after discharge from the ICU. Strikingly, VAP adds an estimated cost of $40,000 to a typical hospital admission.”
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