Promoting patient safety by reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections
Richmond, Texas– OakBend Medical Center is one of 482 facilities in Texas participating in the TMF Quality Innovation Network Quality Improvement Organization (QIN-QIO) antibiotic stewardship (ABS) project. This Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality improvement initiative will promote the appropriate use of antibiotics, improve patient outcomes and decrease the spread of infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. These efforts will be focused at the point of care, where antibiotics are prescribed.
Antibiotics are among the most commonly prescribed drugs and save millions of lives each year. However, widespread, long-term use has led to an alarming rise in antibiotic-resistant bacteria that, in the U.S. alone, cause 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths each year.
“We are honored to be a part of this important team,” stated Joe Freudenberger, CEO of OakBend Medical Center. “Positive patient outcome is extremely important and by joining this initiative to improve the appropriate use of antibiotics and decrease the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections, the hospital and its patients both benefit from the outcome.”
As part of the project, OakBend Medical Center is working with the TMF QIN-QIO, a CMS contractor, to form an interdisciplinary team at its facility that will incorporate into practice the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Core Elements of Outpatient Antibiotic Stewardship, which provide a framework for improving antibiotic prescribing. The team will oversee the development and implementation of ABS prescribing policies and/or practices, review their effectiveness and make modifications, as needed.
“We commend OakBend Medical Center for making antibiotic stewardship an organizational priority,” said Susan Purcell, BS, RN, CPHQ, TMF QIN-QIO project director. “With this significant interdepartmental participation and collaboration, OakBend Medical Center’s team will work to ensure that staff and patients receive appropriate ABS education; identify and address barriers to change; and evaluate and report progress toward goals.”
The 22-month ABS initiative was launched in September 2017.
About OakBend Medical Center:
OakBend Medical Center is an independent, nonprofit community hospital based in Fort Bend County, providing quality care and exemplary service with its two full-service hospitals, as well as many specialty centers. As a community hospital, caring for our patients is personal. Our patients are our neighbors, our family, and our friends. We act with integrity and compassion, each of our staff takes ownership of providing the highest quality care and we have an absolute commitment to excellence in all that we do.
Photo l to r: OakBend Medical Center’s Quality Team: Anne Graves, Cindy Johnson, Helen Maniego, Rose Nabhan, LaToya Bates, BJ Patel, Lisa Schwarz, Soumya Thomas, Sheeba Datta, Darlene Williams, Cynthia Holt and Rakhy Jubin Jacob.
OakBend Medical Center distinguishes itself among its healthcare peers in Fort Bend County by housing several unique programs and facilities including:
- No Wait Emergency Room
- Hospital-based Skilled Nursing Facility
- Neonatal ICU – Level II
- Advanced Trauma Program
- Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Unit
- Geriatric Psychiatric Program
- Permanent Hospital-based Air Ambulance
For more information, please visit www.oakbendmedcenter.org. Connect with us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.
About the TMF QIN-QIO
Led by TMF Health Quality Institute in Texas and Oklahoma, in partnership with the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care, Primaris in Missouri and the Quality Improvement Professional Research Organization, Inc. in Puerto Rico, the TMF QIN-QIO is a collaborative effort to accomplish better care and better health for people and communities as well as more affordable care through quality improvement. https://www.tmfqin.org/
About TMF Health Quality Institute
TMF Health Quality Institute focuses on improving lives by improving the quality of health care through contracts with federal, state and local governments, as well as private organizations. For more than 40 years, TMF has helped health care providers and practitioners in a variety of settings improve care for their patients. www.tmf.org