by Hudson Garrett Jr., PhD

One of the most challenging tasks in healthcare is creating and sustaining cultural transformation. In order for change to be sustainable, all parties involved in the process must be supportive of the process and approach the intervention in a similar manner. In an effort to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), the Champion’s Kit was created. The Champion’s Kit, which was created through a partnership with the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Safe Care Campaign, was sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from Professional Disposables International, Inc. (PDI), a Strategic Partner of APIC. The purpose of the kit was to champion the efforts of infection prevention and control to key stakeholders within the healthcare delivery system, and specifically to reach the C-Suite teams to include the chief executive officer (CEO), chief operating officer (COO), chief medical officer (CMO), chief financial officer (CFO), and chief nursing officer (CNO) and educate this key group on the importance of infection prevention interventions, as well as the need for increased resourcing for infection preventionists within their facilities.

Targeting zero healthcare-associated infections is a culture shift in which every employee of a healthcare facility takes ownership in preventing infections. According to the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, a targeting zero culture is characterized by the following characteristics:

• Setting the theoretical goal of elimination of HAIs;
• An expectation that infection prevention and control (IPC)  measures will be applied consistently by all healthcare workers, 100 percent of the time;
• An environment for healthcare workers to pursue 100 percent adherence, where they are empowered to hold each other accountable for infection prevention;
• Systems and administrative support that provide the foundation to successfully perform IPC measures;
• Transparency and continuous learning where mistakes and/or poor systems and processes can be openly discussed without fear of penalty;
• Prompt investigation of HAIs of greatest concern to the organization and/or community;
• Focus on providing real-time data to frontline staff for the purpose of driving improvements.

Identifying key champions within the institution, securing senior executive leadership support, engaging stakeholders, implementing best practices, creating sustainable and measurable results, and creating an environment of peer accountability support the mission to significantly reduce or eliminate HAIs.

The kit consists of several valuable resources that are fully customizable for any type of healthcare setting. The toolkit features resources on targeting zero HAIs, cultural transformation, clinical guidelines from industry leaders such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, success stories from infection preventionists on various hot topics such as the prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonias, links to the APIC Targeting Zero resources, and much more. In addition to the printable materials on the toolkit, there is a powerful video message from three key stakeholders in the infection prevention process. The first stakeholder is Renee Watson, RN, CIC, manager of infection control and epidemiology at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga. Her message is clear regarding the role that the infection preventionists play in the prevention of healthcare-associated infections on a daily basis, but also that involvement of all personnel working in healthcare settings is critical to complete success. The second key stakeholder is Dr. Daniel Salinas, chief medical officer for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. As both a healthcare administrator and physician, he understands the true importance of the role of the infection preventionists but also more importantly all healthcare personnel in the prevention of HAIs. Finally, the video concludes with a poignant message from Victoria Nahum, executive director for the Safe Care Campaign. As a mother that lost her son to a healthcare-associated infection, her message humanizes the face of HAIs and issues a challenge to all healthcare personnel to take the basic steps necessary to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infections by using techniques such as basic hand washing.

The resources contained within the Champion’s Kit are designed to assist any type of healthcare facility with combating healthcare-associated infections, changing culture, improving patient outcomes and satisfaction, and creating a culture of accountability based on the most current scientific evidence available. Several hospitals have been presented with problems surrounding changing behaviors to increase compliance with common infection prevention practices such as practicing hand hygiene and the appropriate use of personal protective equipment.

Facilities struggling with compliance to best practices can utilize the resources from the Champion’s Kit to not only create clinical champions, but also to solicit support from key constituents such as physicians and administrators.

For more information on the Champion’s Kit, please visit the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Web site at www.apic.org/champions or Professional Disposables International, Inc. (PDI) at www.pdipdi.com.

Hudson Garrett Jr., PhD is director of clinical affairs at Professional Disposables International, Inc. To correspond with the author, please e-mail hgarrett@pdipdi.com.