Blood Infections Plunge 40% Under Safety Protocol

A four-year project undertaken by some units in 1,100 U.S. hospitals has reduced central line-associated bloodstream infections by 40%, more than 2,000 infections, saving more than 500 lives and avoiding more than $34 million in healthcare costs.

That was the message Monday from Johns Hopkins infection control guru Peter Pronovost, MD, who developed CUSP, the Comprehensive Unit-Based Safety Program, a culture change and teamwork model that uses "the science of safety" to achieve hospital results.

Pronovost sat beside American Hospital Association president and CEO Richard Umbdenstock, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality director Carolyn Clancy at a briefing to announce the good news.

"Until recently, these infections were thought to be an unfortunate consequence of care," Clancy said. "Our work to fight CLABSI using the toolkit demonstrates definitely that they are not."