Oregon Statewide IHI Campaign Expands to Protect 5 Million Lives From Harm   

By Maileen Hamto, CareOregon Communications Writer

CareOregon supports the efforts of hospital associations and other health care organizations by joining the Oregon 5M Lives Network, which is part of a national initiative to dramatically reduce incidents of medical harm in U.S. hospitals.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s (IHI) 5 Million Lives Campaign challenges hospitals across the nation to adopt 12 changes in care that save lives and reduce patient injuries. Its goal is to protect patients from five million incidents of medical harm over the next two years, ending December 2008. Already, 44 Oregon hospitals are participating in the IHI Campaign.

“IHI has established bold objectives and a concrete goal. The Oregon 5M Lives Network and Oregon hospitals are proud to support the campaign through a collaborative statewide effort,” said Gwen Dayton, JD, executive vice president and general counsel of OAHHS, speaking for the Oregon 5M Lives Network and OAHHS.

The Oregon 5M Lives Network also includes Acumentra Health, Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS), Oregon Medical Association (OMA), Oregon Nurses Association (ONA), and the Oregon Patient Safety Commission.

Many of these organizations participated in IHI’s successful 100,000 Lives Campaign, which concluded last year. The 5 Million Lives Campaign builds upon the success of that campaign, in which 3,100 participating hospitals nationwide reduced inpatient deaths by an estimated 122,000 over an 18-month period.

“The hospital association and partner hospitals are very engaged in the Oregon 5M Lives Network project. Member organizations are committed to involving all Oregon hospitals in the 5 Million Lives campaign,” said David Labby, M.D., medical director for CareOregon. “We’re pleased to join the Oregon 5M Lives Network and eager to support those efforts.”

Through the Care Support and System Innovation (CSSI) program, CareOregon partners with providers across the state to deliver innovative system changes to provide better patient care. CSSI projects respond to an Institute of Medicine call to action to improve the health care delivery system by emphasizing system enhancements that are safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable.

During its first three years of implementation, CSSI has awarded more than $800,000 to hospitals seeking to execute evidence-based and life-saving interventions, said Diana Wolford, CSSI program coordinator. “We applaud our partner hospitals for their commitment in making significant strides in quality improvement for their patients,” she said.

Of the 12 changes in patient care the 5 Million Lives Campaign promotes, the first six are proven interventions successfully used in the 100,000 Lives Campaign. The remaining six are new interventions that will further enhance care to save lives and reduce patient injuries.

Existing interventions

• Deploy Rapid Response Teams at the first sign of patient decline
• Deliver Reliable, Evidence-based Care for Acute Myocardial Infarction to prevent deaths from heart attack
• Prevent Adverse Drug Events  by implementing medication reconciliation
• Prevent Central Line Infections by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps
• Prevent Surgical Site Infections by reliably delivering the correct perioperative antibiotics at the proper time
• Prevent Ventilator-associated Pneumonia by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps

New interventions

• Prevent Harm from High-alert Medications starting with a focus on anticoagulants, sedatives, narcotics and insulin
• Reduce Surgical Complications by reliably implementing all of the changes recommended by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (www.medqic.org/scip)
• Prevent Pressure Ulcer  by reliably using science-based guidelines for their prevention
• Reduce Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) Infection by reliably implementing scientifically proven infection control practices
• Deliver Reliable, Evidence-based Care for Congestive Heart Failure to avoid readmissions
• Get Boards on Board by defining and spreading the best-known leveraged processes for hospital boards of directors, so that they become far more effective in accelerating organizational progress toward safe care