2003 Ernest Amory Codman Award Recipient
Organization Award: Hospital Award
Baptist Medical Center
Jacksonville, Florida
For its initiative:
“Improvement of Post-Operative Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery Wound Infection Rates”
Surgical site wound infections can be a complication of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. In 2001, through its ongoing performance improvement monitoring, Baptist Medical Center detected a CABG surgical wound infection and other infection at a rate that was higher than anticipated. The medical staff and hospital analyzed CABG-related clinical surgical practices, compared them to national best practices, and identified strategies for improvement: clipping rather than shaving hair at the surgical site; infusing insulin for 72 hours post-operatively to maintain blood sugars; standardizing wound care; applying appropriate antibiotics in the nose; and establishing an antibiotic-to-incision time between 30-60 minutes.
Achievements
- Decreased CABG surgical wound infection rate, no cases of CABG-related infection were reported, and antibiotic-to-incision times were within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations.
- Prompted other improvement activities for the hospital's cardiovascular surgery patients.
- Increased teamwork and communication between physicians, nurses, pharmacy, and OR staff in its efforts to revise processes to integrate the administration of antibiotics in the OR.
- Supported the hospital's efforts to expand community access to cardiovascular services.
- Validated the hospital's quality improvement framework and leadership to effect positive change within the organization.