6 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M a r c h 2 0 1 7
I
mplementing
a comprehen-
sive Surgical
Site Infection
(SSI) bundle
that includes screen-
ing your most vulnera-
ble patients for
Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus
aureus (MRSA) takes
planning, patience and
perseverance. We
achieved 100% SSI
bundle compliance
within 3 months of
implementation and
reached our goal by
reducing our SSI rate
from 2.9% to 1.2%. Here's how we did it.
More than CHG
As part of our SSI bundle, we provide patients at Nemours/ Alfred I.
duPont Hospital for Children with chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG)
cloths. In 2016, we implemented additional items into our SSI bundle
for our implant patients. For these patients, in addition to our stan-
dard bundle elements, we added a MRSA screening protocol and a
roberta Schofield, MSN, aPrN, PcNS-Bc, cNOr | Wilmington, Del.
How We Implemented MRSA Screening
By targeting our most vulnerable patients, we dramatically reduced SSIs.
• KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN It takes only 3 seconds to swirl a swab inside a
patient's nose, but that simple step could dramatically reduce surgical-site infec-
tions in your patients. Nasal bacteria are a primary component in the spread of
infection.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN,
CNOR
