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(AUSTIN, Texas – Feb. 18, 2020) – The Texas Hospital Association named CHI St. Luke’s in Houston as the recipient of the 2019 Bill Aston Award for Quality in the large teaching hospital category. THA presented the award Feb. 14 at the 2020 THA Annual Conference and Expo in San Antonio.
The THA Bill Aston Award for Quality honors a hospital’s measurable success in improving quality and patient outcomes through the sustained implementation of a national and/or state evidence-based patient care initiative.
Intensive care unit patients are often on broad-spectrum antibiotics and immunocompromised – leaving them at high risk for clostridioides difficile infections. When the critical care team at CHI St. Luke’s in Houston saw an uptick in the number of C Dif cases, they sprang into action. By collaborating with the infection prevention team, the team was able to tackle the issue and achieve positive results.
In April 2018, five hospitals in the CHI Texas Division implemented a new bundle around testing for and treating C Dif, CHI St. Luke’s was quick to adopt the new process. Under the leadership of the infection prevention team, physicians and nurses in the critical care unit found that the process was easy to adopt and comply with.
The processes adopted by the team led to a notable reduction in the rate of infection, saving the hospital nearly $800,000 annually. CHI St. Luke’s demonstrated that diagnostic stewardship can be powerful when supported by engaged clinicians and hospital leadership.
The hard work of the team at CHI St. Luke’s Health to reduce the number of C Dif infections, both in the ICU and hospital-wide, earned the facility the Bill Aston Award for Quality in the teaching hospital division.
About THA
Founded in 1930, the Texas Hospital Association is the leadership organization and principal advocate for the state’s hospitals and health care systems. Based in Austin, THA enhances its members’ abilities to improve accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of health care for all Texans. One of the largest hospital associations in the country, THA represents 452 of the state’s non-federal general and specialty hospitals and health care systems, which employ some 400,000 health care professionals statewide. Learn more about THA at www.tha.org or follow THA on Twitter at http://twitter.com/texashospitals.