Preventing infections in the ICU

At Banner Health, one way we evaluate patient safety is to look at the number of infections that happen after a central intravenous (IV) line is placed in our intensive-care-unit (ICU) patients.

This data is important because intensive-care unit patients are at a higher risk for infections, which can prolong hospital stays or even result in death.

We have focused on reducing central-line IV infections and now have systemwide practices and greater training.