NRMC Celebrates Infection Prevention Success The staff at Nevada Regional Medical Center was treated to a BBQ and gifts of appreciation on Friday, Sept. 25. This celebration was a result of a successful hospital-wide culture change from infection control to infection prevention since July of 2008. C-Section infection rates are a national concern with an average rate of 4.8%. The current NRMC rate is 1.8%, down from 4.1% in early 2008. NRMC also exceeded expectations with a 0% infection rate in three primary focus areas: Catheter associated urinary tract infections with a national rate of 32%; central-line associated bloodstream infections with a national rate of 14%; and MRSA transmission from patient to patient with a national rate of 27%. Nevada Regional Medical Center’s overall hospital-acquired infection rate is 0.3%. Judy Feuquay, NRMC President and CEO spoke about the many departments of the hospital that help control infection. “We stopped conceding that hospital acquired infections were going to happen and began to focus on eliminating them altogether. Infection prevention requires a 100% effort by every member of our staff,” Feuquay said. Along with the clinical staff, housekeeping, plant operations, dietary and other ancillary departments play a pivotal role in preventing the spread of hospital-acquired infections. Hand hygiene is the single most important method of prevention. The compliance rate for hand hygiene at NRMC is above its goal of 90%. This includes hand washing and the use of alcohol foam. Other factors include disinfection procedures and other standard precautions. “You can see other hospital’s hand hygiene rates which are lower than ours and how that directly impacts their infection rates, which are higher than ours,” NRMC Chief Nursing Officer, Harlo McCall said.