Colorado Surgical Site Checklist

The aim of the Colorado Surgical Safety Checklist is to reinforce accepted safety practices and foster better communication and team work between clinical disciplines. The Checklist is not a regulatory device; it is intended as a tool for use by healthcare providers interested in improving the safety of their operations and can be adapted for their individual use.

Click here to get more information about the Colorado Surgical Site Checklist initiative 


CUSP Initiative: An Effort to Reduce Central Line Infections in ICUs

The Colorado Hospital Association is pleased to announce that the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) selected Colorado as one of 10 states to participate in a national initiative to reduce central line infections in hospital ICUs. AHRQ seeks to replicate the success of Michigan’s model in dramatically reducing CLABSI throughout the state. Michigan’s approach involved combining evidence-based protocols with patient safety culture assessment which not only greatly reduced the rate of CLABSI, but also saved patient lives and significantly reduced costs. 

Click here to get more information about the Central Line Infection Reduction initiative 


MRSA Prevention Project

Methicillin-resistant Staphylcoccus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph that is reistant to methicillin and some other types of antibiotics. MRSA is becoming increasingly prevalent in the healthcare setting and hospitals are especially vigilant to prevent the spread of MRSA infections.

CHA has launched a MRSA Prevention project to help hospitals with their infection prevention efforts. The MRSA Prevention project was launched in February 2009.

Click here to get more information about the MRSA Prevention initiative


Boards on Board (5 Million Lives)

The Colorado Hospital Association is proud to have been asked by The Colorado Trust to be the lead organization for the Boards on Board intervention. CHA is thrilled to be part of this national initiative, and we will serve as the main resource to all Colorado hospitals for technical assistance and guidance for the Boards on Board initiative.

Click here to get more information about the Boards on Board initiative 


Colorado Hospital Report Card

The Colorado Hospital Report Card has the primary purpose of ensuring that statewide hospital data and clinical outcomes are made available to the general public in a clear and usable manner. The public disclosure of this data will be made available on an internet website in a manner that not only allows consumers to conduct an interactive search to compare information from specific hospitals, but will also provide appropriate guidance on how to use and understand the data. The Colorado Hospital Report Card will utilize standardized quality and clinical outcome measures that are endorsed by national organizations, with established standards to measure the performance of healthcare providers and hospitals.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment designated the Colorado Hospital Association as the entity to create and implement the Colorado Hospital Report Card. CHA will be required to submit an implementation plan for HB 06-1278 by May 15, 2007. The Colorado Hospital Report Card will be made available on an internet website no later than November 30, 2007.

Click here to get more information about the Colorado Hospital Report Card 

Wristband Standardization Project

One of the Colorado Hospital Association’s strategic imperatives is to support hospital efforts to be more accountable to the public and to systematically improve quality and patient safety. Improving the delivery of healthcare in the state of Colorado is dependant upon hospitals having a continuous commitment to improve patient safety. Often, medical errors are not directly caused by negligence, but rather lack of consistency and uniformity in the healthcare system. CHA is committed to exploring ways that patient safety can be improved, especially when the initiatives can be easily and efficiently adopted.

Earlier this year, the CHA Board of Trustees passed a policy recommending every Colorado hospital adopt the use of standardized colors for alert wristbands. The standardization of alert wristbands is an initiative that has gained national attention, and Colorado would be one of several states to formally adopt the standardized colors. Enclosed with this letter is an executive summary of CHA’s recommendations for standardization. Tool kits with wristband standardization information have been sent to all CHA member hospital quality improvement professionals to facilitate implementation of this new recommended statewide policy. 

It is unusual to be presented with an opportunity to improve patient safety this easily, and in a relatively inexpensive manner. Moreover, it is even more significant to have a project that encourages all Colorado hospitals to work together voluntarily to establish a statewide standard of care. Please consider having your hospital adopt these color-coded wristband recommendations and facilitate this statewide effort to improve patient safety.

Click here to get more information about the Wristband Standardization Project


Emergency Code Standardization Project

Overheard emergency codes in hospitals and health systems are widely used in Colorado, yet there is little standardization for commonly used pages, both on a state level and even within a hospital system. Large variation is code use for common emergency pages is a major patient safety concern because it can result in confusion and delayed communication to healthcare providers.

CHA’s Council of Quality Professionals has surveyed Colorado hospitals to determine common code use and examined emergency code standardization models from other states. Based on this information and standards developed by the Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS), CHA’s Council of Quality Professionals has made a recommendation to standardize a core set of overhead emergency codes.

The standardization model was presented to CHA’s Board of Trustees and endorsed for statewide implementation in all Colorado hospitals and health systems. CHA is recommending that all Colorado hospitals and health systems adopt the recommended standardized codes for this core set of overhead pages. Consistency in their use across the state will minimize potential staff confusion and improve patient safety.