Carle Working To Improve Its Score On Infections
Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana is one of more than 700 hospitals at risk of losing 1 percent of its Medicare payments. Those hospitals make up the 25 percent of U.S. hospitals that scored poorest for patient infections and complications, according to preliminary data from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The deduction could mean the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars for Carle, for the next fiscal year starting Oct. 1.
Robert Healey, who is the chief medical quality officer at Carle, said the hospital is making procedural changes that should improve its score. That includes removing catheter lines from patients’ bladders as soon as medically possible, to reduce infection.
Other changes address procedures used with patients’ central IV lines.
“We have cleaning procedures,” Healey explained. “We have checklists we use for inserting central lines. We review how long central lines have been in and remove them as quickly as possible. So with all these changes, we’re hoping that our rates will go down.”
Healey said the new procedures were developed through the Quest (Quality, Efficiency, Safety and Transparency) Collaborative, a project organized by Charlotte-based healthcare improvement company Premier Inc., in which hospitals and health systems are working together to develop better procedures, including those to prevent infections.
Healey said Carle faces higher risks of infections than some other hospitals because it is a teaching hospital that admits many patients referred from other area hospitals. In addition, he explained that Carle has more patients in intensive care than many smaller hospitals. But Healey said smaller hospitals at risk of losing 1 percent of their Medicare funding may face a greater financial hardship.
A list of hospitals in the WILL listening area, and their rankings for patient infections and complications. The hospitals were rated on a scale of one to ten, with ten denoting the highest level of problems. Here is a complete list of hospitals. (Credit: Kaiser Health News)
3.3 Presence United Samaritans Medical Center, Danville
4.6 Presence Covenant Medical Center, Urbana
4.65 St. Mary’s Hospital, Decatur
4.9 OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington
5.55 Terre Haute Indiana Hospital, Terre Haute
5.725 Union Hospital, Terre Haute
6.9 Decatur Memorial Hospital, Decatur
7.05 St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, Effingham
8.0 Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System, Mattoon
8.0 OSF St. James John W. Albrecht Medical Center, Pontiac
8.35 Advocate BroMenn Medical Center, Normal
8.65 Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana
9.0 Iroquois Memorial Hospital, Watseka 9