Bridgeport, W.Va.—WVU Medicine United Hospital Center (UHC) is proud to announce that its Critical Care Unit has achieved a monumental patient safety milestone: 365 consecutive days without a single Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI) or Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI).
This accomplishment marks an entire year with zero incidence of these two primary healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in one of the hospital’s most intensive care settings. This achievement reflects UHC’s unwavering commitment to providing the highest standard of evidence-based, compassionate care to the patients in Central West Virginia.
“Reaching 365 days without CAUTI and CLABSI infections is a direct result of bedside nurses’ commitment to excellence and daily focus on factors impacting patient outcomes,” said Kara Elko, RN, BSN, Director of Critical Care Unit at United Hospital Center. “Achieving this in a high-acuity environment requires constant vigilance and a safety culture where every team member advocates for patient interests.”
CAUTIs and CLABSIs are significant, yet largely preventable, complications in acute care settings. Achieving a full year of zero infections in the Critical Care Unit is a testament to the dedication, vigilance, and collaborative culture of safety cultivated by UHC’s nurses, physicians, and infection prevention team.
“Reaching 365 days CAUTI and CLABSI free is not just a statistic; it is a reflection of the tireless devotion our team has to patient safety and the rigorous adherence to best practices,” said Dr. Mark Povroznik, vice president of Quality, Chairman of Infection Control, at United Hospital Center. “This accomplishment validates the dedication of our ICU team, who work tirelessly to ensure every patient receives the safest, highest-quality care possible.”
UHC attributes this success to several key initiatives, including:
• Stringent Protocol Adherence: Strict, mandatory compliance with evidence-based “bundles” for inserting and maintaining central lines and urinary catheters, along with specialized daily bathing.
• Daily Multidisciplinary Rounds: Collaborative daily reviews to assess the necessity of invasive devices, removing them immediately when they are no longer required.
• Advanced Staff Education: Utilizing innovative training, such as the “Foley Escape Room”, to increase awareness of infection risk factors and prevention best practices.
• Unit-Based Empowerment: Empowering frontline nurses to initiate safety protocols and, as noted in previous UHC initiatives, utilizing dedicated champions to ensure compliance.
This milestone highlights UHC’s ongoing efforts to prevent healthcare-associated infections and its dedication to protecting patient well-being through a culture of high reliability.
About WVU Medicine United Hospital Center
United Hospital Center (UHC) is the result of a merger between St. Mary’s and Union Protestant hospitals in 1970. This bold move provides North Central West Virginia with a regional community hospital that offers a vast array of services. The new UHC opened in 2010 and is located along I-79 in Bridgeport. The 736,403 square foot structure rises eight stories. It is designed around the environment with patients, family, employees, and community in mind, which includes enhanced patient privacy, a high level of technological integration, and improved access to care. The acute care facility has 292 private inpatient rooms and a medical staff that consists of more than 366 physicians, advanced practice providers, and allied health professionals. UHC has more than 2,613 employees and is a member of WVU Medicine (West Virginia United Health System). For more information about UHC, please visit uhcwv.org.
