October 23, 2009

  The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality today awarded nearly $7 million to the AHA's Health Research & Educational Trust affiliate to allow hospitals in all 50 states to participate in a project to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infections. The funding also will support a demonstration project to fight catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Initiated in 2005 by the Michigan Health & Hospital Association and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore to reduce the rate of central-line bloodstream infections in more than 100 Michigan intensive care units, the "On the CUSP" project uses a culturally driven approach, a checklist of evidence-based safety practices, staff training, and other tools to prevent and reduce infections. "Hospitals are committed to reducing healthcare-associated infections, and this partnership with AHRQ will promote practices that have been shown to lessen their incidence dramatically," said AHA President and CEO Rich Umbdenstock. The funding is part of $17 million appropriated to AHRQ last October to reduce healthcare-associated infections. For more on the funded projects, visit www.ahrq.gov.