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COLORADO 5 MILLION LIVES CAMPAIGN CONCLUDES

New video features Colorado hospitals' efforts to strengthen quality and ensure patient safety.In April, the 47 hospitals that participated over the past 18 months in the Colorado 5 Million Lives Campaign gathered to celebrate the successful conclusion of this effort, and to reconfirm their continuing commitment to quality improvement and patient safety. The program included medical simulation training demonstrations and hospital presentations showcasing best-practices in reducing medical errors. Also attending were representatives from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the organization that launched the national 5 Million Lives Campaign in 2007 to significantly reduce the estimated 40,000 daily occurrences of medical harm – from hospital-acquired infections, adverse drug events and surgical errors to pressure sores and other complications.

During this campaign, participating hospitals implemented 12 quality improvement interventions, ranging from better safety measures to more timely medical responses. The interventions have reduced medication errors and decreased adverse events and medical response times while also improving communications and patient-centered care. For example, Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs set a goal of zero hospital-acquired pressure ulcers and has achieved – and maintained – that outcome since June 2008 by refining its pressure ulcer screening tool, screening all patients for risk upon admission and acquiring pressure relieving mattresses for high-risk patients. In Pueblo, Parkview Medical Center set out to reduce medication errors by working with IntelliDOT to develop a medication tracking and reporting system. Out of hundreds of thousands of medication doses that the hospital administers per month, approximately 1,000 are now canceled at bedside, representing near misses that may not have been caught by an attending nurse. And St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver reduced its rate of unexpected cardiac arrests by establishing a resuscitation team, nearly tripling its rapid response activations.

Partners in The Trust's Colorado 5 Million Lives Campaign also included the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, Colorado Hospital Association, Colorado Rural Health Center, Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, WELLS Center and SE2.

For more information contact Laurel Petralia, Program Officer, 303-837-1200, laurel@coloradotrust.org.