The most recent results from the GNYHA-United Hospital Fund (UHF) Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABs) Collaborative show that CLABs rates in participating hospitals have declined by more than 70%—and that the decline has been sustained over time—since the initiative began two years ago. The CLABs Collaborative aims to improve the quality of care by eliminating CLAB infections in hospital ICUs.      

The CLABs Collaborative results have clearly demonstrated that infections can be eliminated through leadership support, teamwork, communication, systematic adoption of evidence-based practices, and basic hand hygiene. GNYHA and UHF are proud to lead this initiative and applaud hospitals' success in adopting evidence-based practices in order to eliminate or reduce CLAB infections, thereby improving outcomes for patients.  

To assist hospitals with their ongoing efforts to sustain the improvements and in anticipation of the New York State Department of Health hospital-acquired infection (HAI) public reporting program, GNYHA and UHF will continue to provide technical assistance to hospitals through monthly conference calls, sharing of data, and continually updating the Collaborative Web site (http://jeny.ipro.org/clabs). The HAI reporting initiative will provide hospitals with an opportunity to showcase their success in reducing CLABs and improving patient outcomes.

New Quality Initiative: Building on the momentum and success from the CLABs Collaborative, GNYHA and UHF will be launching a new infection-reduction initiative focusing on Clostridium difficile (C-diff), a highly contagious infection with a high mortality rate. The C-diff Collaborative will begin with the development of a quality indicator bundle containing evidence-based practices. Over the course of the summer, GNYHA members will receive detailed information on C-diff along with a Collaborative agreement registration form and an invitation to participate. GNYHA and UHF look forward to their continued work with hospitals on eliminating infections and improving patient outcomes.  

Please contact Terri Straub at GNYHA with any questions related to CLABs and C-diff.