One way we get our nurses motivated to maintain our SSI-reduction program is by posting compliance performance data for everyone to see right near the OR scrub sink. We post data such as individual compliance rates for normothermia and oxygenation. This gets the competitive juices flowing - no one wants a lower score than a colleague - and it keeps the importance of nosocomial infection prevention fresh in everyone's minds, including during shorter and clean procedures. Our hospital ranks in the 95th percentile nationally in terms of antibiotic prophylaxis and in the top 1 percent in oxygenation compliance.

Lisa Caffery, MS, RN, BC, CGRN
Epidemiology Specialist, Genesis Medical Center
Davenport, Iowa
writeMail("caffery@genesishealth.com")