Shore Health’s ICU units at Memorial Hospital and Dorchester General were honored by the Maryland Hospital Association (MHA) for their Target Zero efforts as part of a state and national collaborative to reduce healthcare associated infections.

MHA, in partnership with the Delmarva Foundation for Medical Care and the Maryland Patient Safety Center, is part of the largest national voluntary effort to reduce the rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). The ICU units at Memorial Hospital and Dorchester General are two of 78 units in 44 Maryland hospitals participating in the collaborative.

Maryland’s “On the CUSP: Stop BSI” effort had one of the nation’s highest hospital participation rates, 90 percent, compared to the average hospital participation rate of 24 percent in states across the country.

Central line-associated bloodstream infections are a leading cause of health care-associated infections in acute care hospitals. They are usually linked to a central line or central venous catheter — a long thin tube inserted into a large vein and used to provide medicine, fluid, nutrients or blood over an extended period of time to the sickest patients. Those patients, especially the elderly and very young, may have fragile immune systems, making them more susceptible to infections.

“It is remarkable to see the efforts of our staff to reach Target Zero continue to get state and national recognition and as a result, help save more lives,” says Julie Bryan, BS, RN, CIC, Infection Prevention Coordinator.

In photo: Ryan Foster, MS, RN, Manager of the Multi-Specialty Care Unit and Critical Care at Dorchester General (left) and Cindy Beemer, MSN, RN, Nurse Manager of ICU/Telemetry at Memorial Hospital, celebrate their units success in the Maryland Hospital Association’s “On the CUSP” Stop BSI” collaborative.