Abstract
OVERVIEW: In 2012, acute care hospitals in the United States reported 30,100 central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) to the National Healthcare Safety Network of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Known to substantially increase morbidity, length of stay, and cost of care, CLABSIs are associated with a mortality rate of 12% to 25% and an additional cost of $22,885 to $29,330 per incident. Following five months with a sustained CLABSI rate of zero per 1,000 catheter days, the acuity adaptable critical care unit at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, saw the CLABSI rate spike to 3.97 per 1,000 catheter days in March 2011, prompting a quality improvement project and, ultimately, the implementation within the unit of a champion team program to guide central line care.