Essay Sample on Hospital-Acquired Infections

Introduction

For most health care providers, achieving zero errors and reduction of patient harm during the diagnosis and treatment is a lofty inspiration. However, the presence of hospital-acquired infections poses a significant setback for most health institutions. Nosocomial infections are acquired in a hospital or any other health care services (Collins, 2008). Notably, infections are not present during disease diagnosis or patient admission. Bacteria, fungi, or toxins existing in a hospital setting cause them (Wenzel & Edmond, 2001). Additionally, HAIs are associated with extended length of stay (LOS), increased morbidity and mortality rate, and raised the cost of disease management. The most common of these diseases are pulmonary ulcers, urinary tract infection, bloodstream infection, and ventilator-associated pneumonia (Coffin et al. 2008). Due to the adverse factors associated with nosocomial diseases, it is essential for the hospital to improve on the existing preventive measures through the introduction of the HAIs stewardship program that incorporates the creation of staff awareness and training.

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The HAI stewardship program will be essential in the reduction of nosocomial infection cases in the hospital. The initiative consists of training and awareness creation across all stakeholders. Although, the measures have been in existence in the medical field for an extended period, lack of proper equipment and infrastructure to identify, report, and to attend to the diseases has been adamant. Therefore, this program will ensure that the hospital achieves its mission and visions without causing harm to patients and their families.

The Target Population or Audience

The program's primary target populations include the hospital staff and patients since they are most susceptible to HAIs. In the case of the sick, patient-management procedures will be improved in the hospital. Firstly, those with infectious diseases will be isolated from others. Isolation will be performed at the source by separating patients or by the use of protective separation to reduce the spread of neutropenic infections.

The HAIs stewardship program will also affect hospital staff such as nurses and doctors in such a way that they will engage in various projects and programs aimed at reducing the occurrence of HAIs. They will undertake training, which will equip them with the necessary skills and techniques to curb the spread of HAIs. Firstly, they will learn about modern hand washing methods to prevent infections. They will also learn about the use of protective gear to avoid acquiring and transmitting pathogens. The use of improved equipment is necessary for a hospital to protect both patients and physicians. Additionally, selected nurses will participate in the infection control and monitoring program. Selected individuals will undertake surveillance and organized control services in all units across the hospital. Each will manage a maximum of twenty hospitalized patients in every group.

The Benefits of the Program or Project

Firstly, the HAIs stewardship program will reduce the morbidity and mortality rates in the institution. According to Collins (2008), a report 1991 public safety report stated that nosocomial infections affect about two million people in the united states and have a death toll of approximately 90, 000 cases yearly. Firstly, the proposed program will reduce incidents of new infections; thus preventing loss of life.

Secondly, the initiative will reduce the length of stay (LOS). In most cases where patients have acquired new infections, doctors are forced to extend their hospitalization period for easy monitoring (Mehta et al., 2014). The situation increases congestion in hospitals and prevents the admission of more patients with emergency cases. A reduction in infection levels will ensure that patients are released from hospitals after the prescribed period.

Thirdly, the program will reduce the hospital's cost of operations. Increased LOS and additional use of antimicrobial drugs to treat the new infections increases the cost of services. Moreover, it will minimize the cost of treatment for hospitalized patients since they will have short LOS. Fourthly, the initiative will increase the hospital's health care outcomes. In this case, the institution will be able to uphold its philosophy of causing zero harm to its patients.

The Cost or Budget Justification

The project requires a significant amount of capital for proper implementation and evaluation. However, the cost is inevitable given the rising cases of HAIs in the hospital recently. Secondly, it is a statutory requirement for every health care facility to put up measures to enhance patients' safety. Therefore, an improvement in the existing system is indispensable with regard to stakeholder's wellbeing.

Additionally, the perceived benefits of the program's successful implementation are tremendous. For instance, a reduction in LOS will create more bed spaces to accommodate more inpatients. The facility will also minimize the cost of managing HAIs, which has been a significant expenditure in the past years. Significantly, the improvement of treatment outcomes will be realized since the project will reduce the risk of causing additional harm to patients. Noticeably, the anticipated benefits from the proposed initiative surpass the implementation costs.

The Basis upon Which the Program or Project Will Be Evaluated

Control and evaluation of a project are necessary to ensure its successful implementation. The assessment will be based on the effectiveness of the implemented procedure in reducing the prevalence of HAIs. The HAI stewardship program will be evaluated by the use of various tools such as performance indicators, observation, theory-based frameworks, surveys, and logical frameworks. Firstly, performance indicators will assess the success of various processes. For instance, the evaluation team will assess whether the program reaches its target to reduce cases of HAIs by thirty percent after one year of operation.

Secondly, logical frameworks will allow all the hospital's staff to be conversant with the program's anticipated goals. In this case, they will be motivated to work hard towards the realization of the objectives. Thirdly, formal interviews are necessary to ensure that discharged patients give their feedback concerning their health status after hospitalization. Surveys will allow the evaluation team to note cases of HAIs and correlate the results with existing records.

References

Coffin, S. E., Klompas, M., Classen, D., Arias, K. M., Podgorny, K., Anderson, D. J., & Gerding, D. N. (2008). Strategies to prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia in acute care hospitals. Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, 29(1), 31-40. DOI: 10.1086/591062

Collins, A. S. (2008). Preventing health care-associated infections. In: Hughes RG, editor. Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2008 Apr. Chapter 41. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2683/

Mehta, Y., Gupta, A., Todi, S., Myatra, S. N., Samaddar, D. P., Patil, V.,& Ramasubban, S. (2014). Guidelines for prevention of hospital acquired infections. Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine: Peer-Reviewed, Official Publication of Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine, 18(3), 149.

Wenzel, R. P., & Edmond, M. B. (2001). The impact of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 7(2), 174.