The Georgia Hospital Association Partnership for Health and Accountability (PHA) presented its prestigious Patient Safety and Quality Award to Elbert Memorial Hospital in Elberton for its project that reduced and prevented the most common type of infections in hospital patients, including urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and surgical site infections. The project “Reducing Healthcare-Acquired Infections (HAIs),” won second place in the Critical Access Hospitals category. These annual awards recognize Georgia health care organizations for achievement in reducing the risk of medical errors and improving patient safety and medical outcomes.
Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) are a serious patient safety issue that affects hundreds-ofthousands of patients across the country every year. HAIs are caused by pathogens within the healthcare environment and most likely their host, our patient, through direct contact with a contaminated environment or person. The most important infection prevention tool we have is proper handwashing and teaching universal standards to all who encounter our patients and their environment. Through education and performance improvement methods, we were able to increase the safety and care of our patients while enhancing our knowledge and teamwork. The performance improvement process was truly a whole team project. Every member of our EMH team contributed to the effort and success of this project. Tammy Harlow, Interim CEO and Chief Operations Officer, states, “We are very proud of the staff at EMH. An award for patient safety demonstrates the staff’s commitment to taking excellent care of our community. HAIs are preventable and with our whole team working toward a common goal for our patients, we will continue to improve the processes that will reflect a better health outcome for our patients and our community.”
“Infection prevention is a priority of hospitals statewide,” said Georgia Hospital Association President and CEO Earl Rogers. “We applaud Elbert Memorial Hospital on their success in this area and thank them for their efforts to ensure the safest and best possible care for their patients.”