The safety of our patients is a top priority and UW Health Kids has been at the forefront of a number of patient safety initiatives.
We monitor outcomes of safety practices, such as thorough hand-washing, preventing bloodstream infections associated with central lines and preventing surgical site infections. We partner with several regional and national agencies to achieve our goals, including The Joint Commission, Solutions for Patient Safety, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality and Children's Hospital Association.
The charts below illustrate our efforts over specific time frames. To see how we're doing, select the data to review.
CLABSI
A central line is a small intravenous (IV) catheter that is placed in a blood vessel to deliver medication and fluids. There is a risk of infection, called a central line-associated blood stream infection (CLABSI), when bacteria or other germs enter a patient's central line. At American Family Children's Hospital, we track the number of infections so we can measure and improve our efforts to reduce the risk of CLABSI. In the chart, the rate should be as low as possible.
Hand hygiene
The most effective way to prevent the spread of infection is through hand-washing. We monitor hand hygiene across our providers and staff to ensure the safety of all our patients. The goal is to have 100% compliance. Higher numbers in the chart are better.
Surgical site infections
A surgical site infection (SSI) is an infection that develops after surgery and can result in patients having to be re-hospitalized. Our goal is to reduce and prevent the number of infections, and we continue to meet or exceed our goal each year. The chart above shows the number of SSI per every 100 procedures. Ideally, the rate of infections should be well below the goal.
Immunizations
Immunizations help protect children and communities from preventable diseases. UW Health voluntarily reports the rate of immunizations to the Wisconsin Collaboration of Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) to help monitor the health and safety of communities across the state. In the chart, the higher numbers show a greater number of children have received the necessary immunizations by age 2.
Patient experience
UW Health relies on patient surveys to help improve care across the health system. A helpful measure is whether families would recommend American Family Children's Hospital for outpatient surgery. In the chart, the goal is to have a high number of patient families who would recommend American Family Children's Hospital if surgery is needed for children.