CDC - Blogs - Safe Healthcare – NHSN Trainings Fill Gap in Region VIII

Recently a number of states were asked about their number one priority for healthcare-associated infection (HAI) reduction. All collectively agreed – training on how to use the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
Today, on CDC’s Safe Healthcare Blog, HHS’ Zachary Taylor, MD, MS, Regional Health Administrator, Region VIII, shares his experience and insights following formal (NHSN) training. Taylor shares, “Training participants weren’t the only ones leaving the trainings with new knowledge. I learned more about states’ experiences with HAI surveillance. I believe the training outreach helped healthcare facilities to better understand the importance of surveillance in contexts of limited staff time and resources.”


NHSN Trainings Fill Gap in Region VIII
Categories: Healthcare-associated infections, NHSN

February 25th, 2011 12:40 pm ET -

Author – Zachary Taylor, MD, MS
Regional Health Administrator, Region VIII
U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services


Healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention resources vary a great deal across HHS Region VIII, which includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Some states have longstanding programs in place, while others need support to strengthen basic program infrastructure, communications, lab capacity, and data collection systems.

Last May, my region secured a grant from the HHS Office of Healthcare Quality to address the gap. I asked states their top needs for HAI reduction. Each state identified the same priority: training on use of the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), which is the CDC’s system for national surveillance of HAIs.

Many hospitals in Region VIII need to continue to provide training to their healthcare personnel and to assure successful uptake of prevention initiatives. Development of state surveillance training competencies through local trainings for appropriate use of surveillance systems like NHSN is an important part of this. Plus, facilities are incentivized to report their central line-associated blood stream infection rates through NHSN starting in January 2011, and their surgical site infection rates starting in January 2012 because of CMS’s new rule tying reimbursement rates to infection reporting.

Trainings were conducted in Utah, North Dakota, and South Dakota in late 2010. Over 200 clinicians and administrators from critical access hospitals and long-term care facilities were trained in the use of NHSN. Training focused on transitioning from state surveillance guidelines to Federal guidelines established by the CDC and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Training agendas were tailored to meet the needs identified by each state. They included content for both beginners and those with some experience using the system. Participants learned from a combination of didactic training and case studies.

And training participants weren’t the only ones leaving the trainings with new knowledge. I learned more about states’ experiences with HAI surveillance. My team and I also noticed that the marketing of the training itself helped to raise awareness about the importance of surveillance, particularly in states or facilities without reporting mandates. I believe that the training outreach helped healthcare facilities to better understand the importance of surveillance in contexts of limited staff time and resources.

To maximize the unique training opportunity, as much content as possible was squeezed into each training. In the future, I think it’s important to allow time for conversation among the participants on surveillance and relationship building to encourage peer support for NHSN. The training content on the nuts and bolts of NHSN is critical, but it’s the relationships that count when support is needed after the training.

CDC - Blogs - Safe Healthcare – NHSN Trainings Fill Gap in Region VIII

Regional Projects Spur Creative Strategies for HAI Prevention Across US
Categories: Healthcare-associated infections

February 15th, 2011 2:01 pm ET -

HHS Region Map
Author – Rani Jeeva
Team Leader for Healthcare-Associated Infections
HHS Office of Healthcare Quality


HAI elimination is a top priority for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The HHS Steering Committee for the Prevention of Healthcare-Associated Infections was established in July 2008 with the charge to develop a comprehensive strategy to prevent and reduce HAIs. The result was the Action Plan to Prevent Healthcare-Associated Infections, which outlines national goals for prevention and key actions for achieving them.

HAI prevention efforts have grown at the state level as well. State HAI Coordinators now work in 49 states, and all states have submitted HAI prevention plans. To further efforts at the regional level, in 2010, six Office of Healthcare Quality-funded HAI Regional Programs responded to the gaps identified in state plans.

These projects link state, regional and national-level healthcare providers, consumers, stakeholder organizations and federal agencies in HAI prevention. They also used information and data from the national and state HAI plans, the CDC review of state plans, the expertise of HAI state advisory councils, and identified activities that could be implemented to address the HAI state and regional gaps. A second round of projects will be funded this spring.

To give just a sample of the projects funded in 2010-11 cycle now underway:

1.Region 1 (New England area) is addressing HAI data collection and reporting in dialysis facilities through generating partnerships between state health departments, hospitals and non-acute care settings, and leveraging these partnerships to assess training needs and identifying training resources to address these needs. This is a pilot surveillance project that will determine the opportunities and barriers presented by enrollment in, reporting to, and utility of the NHSN system.
2.Region 2 (New York, New Jersey, and Puerto Rico) has a pilot project underway that is developing educational outreach in HAIs for ambulatory surgery centers to meet the needs of the diverse population of the region, including materials aimed at Spanish-speaking populations, urban and rural communities, and a wide range of socio-economic levels.
3.Region 6 (Southwest) is in the process of conducting formative research on the effect of public reporting on consumer decision making, and the elements that go into creating a consumer-friendly website.
HHS hopes that these projects will serve as HAI prevention models for other states and regions throughout the country. The most important outcome we can have is to improve patient safety and quality of care. Ultimately, it’s about saving lives.

In the next blog entry, one of our partners, Zachary Taylor, will discuss HHS Region VIII’s state-level training on data surveillance.