Nursery ICU CRBSI free

June 20, 2008

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UCSF’s William H. Tooley Intensive Care Nursery has gone 135 days without a single central line-associated bloodstream infection.

“The reduction in infection is really due to a change in culture at UCSF,” says Michelle Cathcart, RN. “Dr. Yao Sun has been instrumental in creating the cultural shift which supports nurses in their role as gatekeepers.”

In addition to hand hygiene, nurses at UCSF also enforce no wearing of jewelry or long-sleeve shirts in the NICU. These rules apply to anyone touching a baby, including nurses, physicians and family members. UCSF best practices also include the use of chlorhexidine, an antimicrobial agent for cleaning skin, and training a core group of nurses to do dressing changes for central lines.

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