BOTHELL, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FUJIFILM SonoSite Inc., international specialists, manufacturers, and educators in portable, point-of-care ultrasound systems, announced an outstanding patient-safety achievement by White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC), a 353-bed not-for-profit teaching hospital affiliated with the Adventist Health System located in downtown Los Angeles, CA. Since 2011, the institution has achieved a hospital-wide zero iatrogenic pneumothorax complication rate during central line catheterizations (CVCs). During this same period, it has maintained a zero central line-associated infections (CLABSI) rate in its intensive care unit. WMMC achieved these results by introducing the SonoSite Central Line Management Training Program, which ran from January 2010 through August 2011.
In recognition of this accomplishment, the medical center was awarded SonoSite's distinguished Star Award. “We applaud White Memorial Medical Center for their success in implementing a high standard for eliminating serious iatrogenic complications," said Kevin M. Goodwin, President and CEO, FUJIFILM SonoSite Inc. "Outstanding accomplishments never occur without commitment and active involvement. White Memorial has demonstrated its dedication to excellence and patient safety.”
The onsite SonoSite Central Line Management Training Program as implemented at WMMC includes many instructional elements, such as hospital-wide training related to best practices for inserting central lines; “train the trainer” sessions; and a quality assurance feedback process. Integral to the program is the teaching of a five-point central-line bundle with proven safety measures by the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a protocol which has been shown to decrease the rate of CLABSI when carefully followed1.
The SonoSite Central Line Management Training Program teaches the IHI bundle plus an additional sixth step: ultrasound needle guidance for line placements. Research has shown that, by using ultrasound to aid in guiding the needle during a central line placement, the risk for cannulation failure, accidental arterial puncture, hematoma, pneumothorax, and other complications is decreased2.
It should be noted, however, that while research indicates the implementation of central-line bundles can lower CLABSI rates in ICUs, even the best bundles will fail to effect adequate change if hospitals don't strongly target rigorous compliance1. Project administrators at White Memorial Medical Center recognized this need for more than simply instituting guidelines when they launched their training program. "It was clear that if you got the right tools and the teaching and you were able to change the culture, it would become part of your practice," said Angela Hughes, RN, BSN, MSN, Director, Continuum of Care. "That’s what we were shooting for. SonoSite was integral to this process."
WMMC administrators who watched their rates of CVC mechanical failures and CLABSI plummet during and following the Central Line Management Training Program have been more than satisfied with program results. "The numbers really do speak for themselves about the program's effectiveness. I’ve learned through this project that you can achieve zero," said Mara Bryant, Sr. Vice President, Organizational Excellence.
WMMC is the second hospital to receive the Star Award from SonoSite for outstanding achievements in patient safety. The Memorial Hermann Healthcare System of Houston, TX, was the first. Memorial Hermann also achieved a zero rate of iatrogenic pneumothoraces after implementing ultrasound guidance for central line placements.
SonoSite is committed to quality care, and it partners with healthcare facilities to achieve patient safety goals. For more information, please click here.
About White Memorial Medical Center
White Memorial Medical Center (WMMC) is a 353-bed not-for-profit, faith-based, teaching hospital, which provides a full range of inpatient, outpatient, emergency and diagnostic services to communities in and near downtown Los Angeles. Keeping our communities healthy has been the mission of White Memorial Medical Center ever since the hospital was founded by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in 1913. Today, White Memorial is one of the region's leading not-for-profit hospitals. Services include behavioral medicine, cardiac and vascular care, intensive and general medical care, oncology, orthopedic care, rehabilitation, specialized and general surgery, and women’s and children’s services. As a major teaching hospital, White Memorial also plays an important role in training physicians, nurses and other medical professionals.
About:
FUJIFILM SonoSite, Inc., is the innovator and world leader in bedside and point-of-care ultrasound, and an industry leader in ultra high-frequency micro-ultrasound technology. Headquartered near Seattle, the company is represented by 26 subsidiaries and a global distribution network in over 100 countries. SonoSite’s portable, compact systems are expanding the use of ultrasound across the clinical spectrum by cost-effectively bringing high-performance ultrasound to the point of patient care. For more information, go to: www.sonosite.com.
FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan, brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including electronic imaging, digital printing equipment, medical systems, life sciences, graphic arts, flat panel display materials, and office products, based on a vast portfolio of digital, optical, fine chemical and thin film coating technologies. The company was among the top 10 companies around the world granted U.S. patents in 2012, and in the year ended March 31, 2013, had global revenues of $26.7 billion*. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit www.fujifilmholdings.com.
* At an exchange rate of 83 yen to the dollar.
All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.
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