According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 250,000 central line-associated blood stream infections occur in the United States each year. It is estimated that 30,000-62,000 patients die as a result of the infection and the cost to the healthcare system is about $25,000 per episode. 

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 CLABSI in ICUs. The project is funded by AHRQ in partnership with the American Hospital Association’s Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET), the Johns Hopkins University Quality & Safety Research Group (JHU), and the Michigan Health & Hospital Association’s Keystone Center for Patient Safety & Quality. 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. 

Project Goals

• To replicate the success of the Michigan Keystone/John Hopkins project to reduce the mean CLABSI rate in at least 10 hospitals (all hospitals within the state are welcome to participate) to less than 1 per 1,000 catheter days by implementing CUSP in acute care hospital ICUs,
  
  
• To improve safety culture by 50% in participating hospitals,
  
  
• To create educational modules regarding CUSP that will be publicly available, and
  
  
• To partner with the CDC to support measurement and timely feedback of CLABSI data.
  
  
  

Regularly Scheduled Project Teleconferences

This collaborative began with foundational informational calls. These calls have already taken place. If you are interested in viewing the PPT presentations, please access the links below.