We certainly don’t want our patients to acquire infections or Multi Drug Resistant Organisms (MDRO) as a result of their treatment or stay at Stony Brook University Hospital. So for their safety, we carefully monitor and trend patient care activities and infections that occur in each unit, each day, while educating and providing ongoing training to our teams in the latest, recommended best practices for each patient-care task they perform. We also meet regularly to discuss our findings, give continuous feedback, and make recommendations to prevent infections from occurring and spreading.
Stony Brook University Hospital is an active, participating member of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and follows IHI’s recommended approach to providing safe care. Our commitment also requires SBUH to comply with several guidelines established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as several professional organizations. Communication is key to accomplishing this and understanding how the consequences of our actions can seriously and positively impact patient safety.
Each Unit’s leadership monitors compliance using checklists and tools that team members are all familiar with and are expected to follow 24/7. Proper protocols, procedures, and techniques for all patient care activities are clearly spelled out for the team and cover everything from proper hand hygiene and environmental cleanliness to instrument cleaning, disinfection, and sterilization and to maintaining aseptic and sterile techniques for invasive procedures. Ongoing training is also provided as needed. This multifaceted approach provides our teams with the guidance to do the right thing at all times and continues to favorably impact their level of compliance as we continue our journey to being a high reliability organization (HRO).