Inaugural HAC Achievement Cup awarded

The fourth floor and burn team at USA Health University Hospital has been awarded the hospital’s inaugural HAC Achievement Cup for marking the highest number of days – 179 – without a targeted infection.

“This is an impressive accomplishment that required the highest level of teamwork among all of the employees and providers who are caring for patients on the fourth floor,” said Sam Dean, hospital administrator, who awarded the cup to the team on May 12. “Congratulations to the fourth floor and to all of the other units who were close behind.”

The runners-up to the fourth floor include the eighth floor (178 days without a targeted infection), the surgical trauma intensive care unit (138 days) and the sixth floor (124 days).

The awarding of the HAC Achievement Cup is the culmination of a nearly two-year effort at University Hospital to address and prevent undesirable situations or conditions that affect patients during hospital stays – referred to as hospital-acquired conditions, or HAC.

Almost two years ago, the hospital created an HAC Review Team made up of frontline staff and executive leadership to review each hospital-acquired situation in a case study format presented by nurse managers. In January, the hospital launched the Present on Admission (POA) / HAC initiative, which created a supportive learning environment for staff to gain an understanding of current practices, identify gaps and collaborate to create meaningful change.

The goal was to achieve “zero harm” for patients. “It takes a tremendous effort by all units, disciplines, departments and administration to remain focused on the goal of zero harm for our patients,” said Beth Leffard, MSN, CPHQ, manager of quality management at University Hospital. “Healthcare improvement requires every team member to be committed to resilience to ensure that quality care is delivered every time to everyone.”

During case presentations, nurse leaders work to make sure that the focus remains on the patients. “The nurse leaders who present these cases are encouraged to personalize the story about the individual, so we don’t lose the person impacted by the event,” said Lisa Mestas, MSN, chief nursing officer for USA Health. “We want to talk about people – not just data points.”

The HAC Achievement Cup and other forms of recognition were developed as a tangible way to highlight success. Teams who win the HAC Achievement Cup – a tall metal cup-style trophy -- wear white gloves to accept it and display it on their units for everyone to see.

The unit with the longest period without a targeted infection retains the award. If an infection occurs on the unit of the current award holder, the unit with the next longest period without a targeted infection receives the award, with a handoff between the previous winner and the new winner. Administration provides additional recognition gifts to accompany the trophy and recognizes all units who have achieved at least three months without a targeted infection.