Parkridge quality initiatives significantly reduce HAIs

When Parkridge Medical Center and Parkridge East Hospital in Chattanooga each received grade “A” patient safety scores from Leapfrog, a nationally-recognized nonprofit watchdog organization that serves as a voice for healthcare consumers, it affirmed the health system’s long-serving commitment to  “zero harm” to patients while under hospital care. Through adherence to established best practices and attention to the details of each patient’s individualized care,  teams at both hospitals have been recognized for quality initiative and, most importantly, results. 

“We take great pride in our attention to the individual needs of each patient and the clinical quality of services we provide,” said Kelley Torrance, an RN in Parkridge Medical Center’s ICU and the hospital’s most recent Daisy Award for Extraordinary Nurses recipient. “We do what is right for the patient, and that includes doing our very best to ensure that patient receives ‘zero harm’ while in our care.”

Significantly, the care teams at both hospitals are now enjoying exceptionally long periods of time without a diagnosis for several hospital-acquired infections (HAIs): 2,000+ days with no central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) in the Parkridge East Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and well over a year since HAIs like catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) and MRSA have been seen in many units at both hospitals.  Two nursing units at Parkridge Medical Center haven’t diagnosed a CAUTI in over 2,000 and 2,100 days, respectively.

“With extensive infection prevention education and training and through the empathy of our clinical staff to our patients, Parkridge Health is ranked among the best quality scoring hospitals in HCA,” Lisa Roberson, RN, BS, CPPS, director of patient safety, said. “But our clinical quality is  more than meeting metrics. It’s our own culture of safety where each and every member of our Parkridge staff, regardless of the job role, is empowered to advocate and speak up for patient safety.”

Torrance was quick to say that while nursing units are typically recognized for quality standards and patient safety, nurses are not the only colleagues who impact overall quality.

“We get tremendous support from our support colleagues,” Torrance said. “From environmental services staff ensuring rooms are thoroughly clean and disinfected, to food and nutrition services colleagues preparing and delivering hundreds of meals safely each day and more, we’re always working to ensure that culture of safety and exceptional service quality delivery at Parkridge are top of mind in every patient encounter.”

Pictured: Kelley Torrance, a recent Parkridge Medical Center Daisy Award recipient, said quality initiatives and caregivers doing everything possible to prevent HAIs is the right thing to do for every patient every time.