Hot Springs Leading the Way in Reducing Healthcare-Acquired Infections

Proventix
A coworker shows off the newest tool being piloted with goal to reduce infections.

Because patient safety one of our top Living Our Mission measures, we are excited to announce a new project aimed at helping us offer the best care.

Healthcare regulatory agencies identify hand hygiene as the single most important way to reduce infection risk. Healthcare-acquired infections (HAI) are not only incredibly harmful to patients, they are also costly – for the hospital and the patient.

In August, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs implemented Proventix nGage, a point-of-care hand hygiene compliance monitoring system. Proventix nGage tracks the handwashing compliance rate of staff members, thus reducing the number of potential infections. Hospitals across the country that have implemented this system see an 18-25% reduction in infections.

CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs was the first hospital in Arkansas to implement Proventix nGage.

So how does it work? The Proventix nGage system monitors hand hygiene compliance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff members wear badges that are uniquely recognized by control units at soap and alcohol dispensers throughout the intensive care units. When the caregiver enters a room or area where there is a control unit, they are recognized and, upon the completion of a quality hand hygiene event, they are given important, patient-specific information (such as “the patient is at risk for a fall”), general employee information, or employee-specific information.

Proventix nGage will be piloted in MICU and SICU with hopes to be implemented in other departments.

Thanks to the coworkers in these intensive care units for being the trial run for something that ideally helps us achieve important goals.