The American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) recently obtained a grant from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to expand CUSP, the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program for reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and other healthcare-associated infections, to nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities nationwide.
CUSP has posted a 40% reduction in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in 1,000 participating hospitals by providing education and support and an evidence-based protocol. The grant will be administered by HRET in partnership with others, including the University of Michigan Health System, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and SHM.
Meanwhile, a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control found that rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections in adult patients given urinary catheter placements dropped nationwide to 5.3% in 2010 from 9.4% in 2001.3 The retrospective analysis of data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey found that CAUTI-related mortality and associated length of hospital stay also declined during the same period.
Larry Beresford is a freelance writer in Alameda, Calif.