Postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) have become a major source of morbidity in the United States. As hospitals continue to struggle with reducing SSI rates, River Oaks Hospital in Flowood, MS experienced a decrease SSI rate in many of the high volume surgical procedures performed as determined by the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN).
NHSN is a voluntary, secure, internet-based surveillance system that integrates patient and healthcare personnel systems managed by the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP). The goal of NHSN is to improve patient safety by providing data analysis that compares participating healthcare facilities, such as River Oaks Hospital, to national averages.
The SSI rate for total hip and total knee procedures for 2010 was zero. Cesarean section and laminectomy, a spine operation to remove the portion of the vertebral bone, were 37% and 34% below national averages of 1.82% and 1.38%, respectively.
David L. Smith MD, Infectious Disease Specialist and Hospital Epidemiologist, said, “We attribute these very low rates of post-operative infections to evidence-based best practices. We now screen all inpatients and outpatients for MRSA and have placed a high importance on hand hygiene as well as hibiclens pre-operative bathing and the use of sage cloths.”
In December 2010 River Oaks Hospital opened three new ORs all of which equipped with a controlled airflow system. The airflow system has the potential to reduce the risk of infection by controlling the entire volume of air within a designated space so it moves at a uniform velocity in a single direction along parallel flow lines.
To continue in this effort River Oak acquired robotic-assisted surgical systems which have the ability to reduce the risk of infection as well as hospital stay. River Oaks currently has two daVinci robotic systems, used for hysterectomy, prostatectomy and general surgery, as well as a MAKO surgical system, a partial knee replacement robot used to treat early to mid-stage osteoarthritis.
Dennis R. Bruns, President and CEO of River Oaks Hospital, said, “We strive to provide quality care. One way of providing this level of care is by keeping our facility as free of contaminates as possible. We continually educate our staff and look for new equipment and best practices to assist in this effort.”
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