Erie County Medical Center—Reduced Infection

It is estimated that 80,000 central venous catheter-associated nosocomial bloodstream infections occur annually in the United States.These infections have been shown in many instances to increase morbidity, length of hospital stay, and costs associated with hospital stay. In an effort to reduce these consequences, the TCAB team at Erie County Medical Center developed an innovation approach. Through education surrounding the negative effects of infection and the link to proper IV use, they increased IV tube labeling from 65 percent to 100 percent and thus reduced potential for infection on their unit.