Purpose:

To recognize the benefits of basic nursing interventions and their significance in decreasing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and evaluate the impact of using the VAP bundle in delivering quality nursing.

Significance:

Basic nursing interventions can decrease and possibly eradicate VAP, which is the most common and lethal nosocomial infection.

Background/Design:

A quantitative, retrospective cohort study of all ventilated patients at a rural, southern, level 2, 389-bed facility and a descriptive study of nurses' perception of the VAP bundle implementation process outcomes.

Methods:

Prevalence aggregate data were examined to determine the implemented ventilator bundle's effectiveness in decreasing the occurrence rates of VAP. Thirty surveys were administered to be completed by nurses working directly with the VAP bundle, and 27 were returned (n = 27) to gain the nurse's perspective of the VAP bundle (return rate of 90%).

Findings:

National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance risk index rate decreased from 7.6% to 2.87%. Nursing reports correlate VAP bundle implementation with favorable process and clinical.

Conclusions:

The findings of this study correlates with literature review: Implementation of VAP bundle has significant benefits as well as (1) increases positive patient outcomes, (2) increases nursing satisfaction, and (3) decrease costs.

Implications for Practice:

Theoretical-basic nursing interventions increase positive patient outcomes. Clinical-bundles contribute to increasing positive patient outcomes and should be implemented in healthcare facilities.