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Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections

What Are We Measuring?

Central Line-Associated Blood Stream Infections (CLABSI) can occur with an IV catheter if germs enter the bloodstream when it is inserted or if germs enter any time the catheter is in place. These types of IV catheters are inserted when there is a need to deliver important medications and/or intravenous fluids. The goal is to have zero CLABSIs.

How Are We Performing?

National reporting databases report CLABSI using a standardized infection ratio (SIR). SIR predicts the number of infections based on the standard population. The benchmark is established based on the number of predicted CLABSIs to be expected for those receiving care at Hendricks Regional Health. A SIR greater than 1.0 indicates that more CLABSIs were observed than were predicted. A SIR less than 1.0 indicates that fever CLABSIs were observed than predicted; lower scores are better. The graph below reflects data publicly released in January 2023 for a selected period of time. Learn more by visiting Medicare.gov Care Compare.


What Are We Doing to Improve?

At Hendricks Regional Health, we use the many well-known best practices to prevent a CLABSI from happening including hand hygiene, a full-barrier sterile IV insertion process, a dressing that continues to kill germs while the IV is in place, and removal of the IV as soon as it is no longer necessary.  The patient’s care team discusses whether a catheter can be removed each day during unit rounds.

Learn More

We encourage patients and family members to use many of the different resources available to compare and choose a hospital or healthcare provider. Examples include Medicare.gov Care Compare and Leapfrog Ratings as well as talking with your doctor.