March 7, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lisa Huddleston, Manager of Communications
(513) 531-0200 or lhuddleston@gchc.org

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Awarded 2007 Innovative Solutions Award

Shriners Hospital for Children is Runner-up

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is the 2007 recipient of the Greater Cincinnati Health Council’s second annual Innovative Solutions Award, created to celebrate unique approaches to clinical or non-clinical hospital process improvements, patient care initiatives, or innovative/creative change projects. The Innovative Solutions Award was presented to CCHMC at the Health Council’s eleventh annual Solutions Conference and Expo on February 28 at the Northern Kentucky Convention Center.

CCHMC won for its project to change the outcome of ventilator patients in critical care units. For the project, an internal improvement collaborative was organized among the hospital’s three critical care units. The team worked to reduce ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by 50 percent in each of the units, via accelerated clinical improvement experiments and the spread of best practices resulting from these rapid cycle tests. Each of the three participating critical care units demonstrated a substantial decrease in VAP rates, having decreased the incidence of VAP from 62 cases in 2004 to six cases in 2006 – a 90 percent reduction.

In addition, Shriners Hospital for Children was named runner-up. Shriners was recognized for its project to redesign portable suction equipment cases to benefit patients with tracheotomies. The commercially obtained cases that were used can become contaminated with microorganisms of concern, and those microorganisms can be difficult to remove from the cases. These cases, if not successfully disinfected, can present a risk to patients. The team designed a denim case with a washable synthetic fiber to provide shape. The cloth cases care less expensive than the commercial cases and can be readily disinfected.

To apply for the award, each area hospital had the opportunity to submit one project for consideration. The winner and runner-up were selected from a group of 11 total projects. The award selection panel primarily considered the project’s level of innovation. Other factors included project applicability, implementation and outcomes. Judges for this year’s award were: Valerie Berry, Orthopaedic Diagnostic and Treatment Center; Mendy Mazzo, SKANSKA; Amy Perkins, Cincinnati Bell; Will Scott, The Fortress, Inc.; and Shiloh Turner, The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati.

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