Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Save Lives And Sanitize: Prevention Of Surgical Site Infections Post-Cesarean Section Through Increased Hand Hygiene Compliance, Lindsay N. Nance

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: Surgical site infections (SSIs) occur in 3-15% of cesarean sections, making SSIs one of the most common hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). Surgical site infections (SSIs) have increased within a Labor & Delivery (L&D) unit in a large California teaching hospital for the past three years, affecting reimbursement and creating a range of adverse outcomes for patients. Performance of consistent and thorough hand hygiene practices is key to preventing infection, yet the unit’s hand hygiene compliance of 66.7% is well below the facility’s target goal of 90%. Based on recommendations from the organization’s Infection Prevention & Control (IPC) specialist, the …

Surgical Site Infections And Hand Hygiene Discharge Teaching, Jesus A. Rodriguez Hernandez

Master's Projects and Capstones

Problem: During the span of a nine-month period, the PACU of a perioperative unit in an acute care hospital in the East Bay Area saw an incidence of 13 surgical site infections (SSIs). SSIs have been associated with negative patient health outcomes, diminished quality of life, and increasing healthcare costs.

Context: The PACU consisted of 20 beds and a competent staff of registered nurses, medical assistants, patient care technicians (PCTs), and management staff. It served mostly adults from diverse backgrounds receiving elective and emergent surgeries.

Intervention: A Standardized 3-Step Hand Hygiene Discharge Teaching model with nurse self-audits for every surgical …

Surgical Site Infection Reduction Through Nasal Decolonization Prior To Surgery, Melissa S. Schmidt

Master's Projects and Capstones

Surgical site infections (SSIs) are the most common and expensive healthcare-acquired infection. The objective of this nurse-driven process improvement project was to implement a cost-effective and practical decolonization protocol to improve outcomes for high-risk veteran populations undergoing surgery at a large veteran’s hospital in the Pacific Northwest. Prior to the implementation, a decolonization protocol was used for cardiac and orthopedic preoperative patients. The process involved screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization via nasal swab preoperatively and treating positive patients with mupirocin ointment to nares BID and chlorhexidine showers for five days prior to surgery. Adherence to the protocol was …