March 21, 2008 - The Premier healthcare alliance said yesterday it is expanding its relationship with Alegent Health using the SafetySurveillor in five Nebraska and Iowa hospitals to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and optimize antibiotic use, protecting patients and reducing hospital costs.
Premier said more than 200 hospitals have selected the Web-based system to enhance patient care, making SafetySurveillor one of the most widely adopted infection control solution over the past 12 months.
Alegent Health is the largest nonprofit, faith-based healthcare system in Nebraska and southwestern Iowa with nine acute care hospitals, more than 100 sites of service, and more than 1,300 physicians on its medical staff. It has been an owner of the Premier Purchasing Partners group purchasing network since 1988. Alegent Health also uses other performance improvement tools and services and participates actively in Premier cost, quality and patient safety initiatives.
"Around the country, super bugs resistant to many antibiotics are on the rise, making infection eradication inside our hospital walls critical," said Mark Kestner, M.D., Alegent Health vice president and chief quality officer. "SafetySurveillor provides Alegent Health physicians, nurses and hospital staff an innovative tool to defend against such infections for the benefit and safety of our patients."
Alegent Health hospitals that will deploy SafetySurveillor include Bergan Mercy Medical Center, Immanuel Medical Center, and Lakeside Hospital, all based in Omaha, and Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs, IA and Midlands Hospital in Papillion, NE.
SafetySurveillor reportedly helps hospitals meet state-mandated public reporting of certain HAIs, including screening for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile, some of the most common and harmful infections found in hospitals. With the automated SafetySurveillor system, hospitals can detect HAIs, alert staff and facilitate timely intervention to reduce and prevent infections.
Premier's SafetySurveillor is one of the HAI surveillance system software vendors participating in a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention project to develop a standards-based solution for transmission of HAI data from hospitals, using existing commercial software systems to the agency's National Healthcare Safety network.
For more information: www.premierinc.com