Patient Safety and Quality

From the latest technology to compassionate nursing care, we strive to provide the very best healthcare to our patients. At UnityPoint Health - Des Moines, we want to deliver safe, effective and patient-centered care to each of our patients. And, we want you to know how and what we are doing to keep our commitment to our community.  

Infection Rates

Surgery Site Infection Rates for UnityPoint Health - Des Moines
Currently, there are no national or state comparisons for overall hospital infection rates because they vary considerably depending on the type of hospital.

At UnityPoint Health - Des Moines we look at specific types of infections rather than an overall rate.  This allows us to do comparisons.  We categorize Surgery Site Infections based on risk factors (type of surgery, age of person, medical condition, etc).  The majority (over 90%) of all surgeries fall into Risk Category 0 or 1. Our surgical site infection rate for both of these categories is below the 2008 National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) benchmark rate.

Benchmark	2009	2010	2008 NHSN Benchmark
Risk category 0	1.1%	1.0%	1.5%
Risk category 1	%

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Central Line Related Bloodstream Infection Rates
A Central Line is a special IV that is placed directly into a very large blood vessel. It is most often used for patients in critical care units. Central line related bloodstream infection rates are calculated by dividing the number of patients with central line related bloodstream infections by the number of central line days multiplied by 1,000.

Hospital		2009 Rate	2010 Rate	2008 NHSN Benchmark*
Iowa Lutheran Hospital CCU	1.1	1.2	1.5
Iowa Methodist Medical Center CCU	0.2	1.3	2.9
Blank Children's NICU	0.9	0.9	2.6
Blank Children's PICU	0.0	2.3	2.9

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Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Infection Rates
Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia rates are calculated by dividing the number of patients that develop pneumonia while on a ventilator by the number of ventilator days multiplied by 1,000.

Hospital	2009 Rate	2010 Rate	2008 NHSN Benchmark*
Iowa Lutheran Hospital	4.6	0.0	2.2
Iowa Methodist Medical Center	2.6	3.9	4.3
Blank children's NICU	0.0	3.1	1.6
Blank Children's PICU	1.7	3.0	2.1

* The NHSN averages vary according to the type of patients (i.e., pediatric, medical, trauma) in the intensive care unit and are updated on a yearly basis.

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Patient Falls

Falls
At UnityPoint Health - Des Moines, we track the number of falls that occur with our patients within our facility. This is important because when people are hospitalized they are at a greater risk for falling due to having had surgery or a procedure that required sedation. In addition, they are often being treated with medications and may be weak from their illness or injury. Patients are also at a greater risk for injury from a fall due to their medical condition that caused their hospitalization. Finally, they are in an unfamiliar surrounding and that can lead to falls as well.

UnityPoint Health - Des Moines Inpatient Falls Summary 2000 - 2009 This chart shows the number of falls per 1,000 patient days at UnityPoint Health - Des Moines. Inpatient falls at UnityPoint Health - Des Moines have steadily decreased since 2000 due to a number of measures we have put into place, including:

1. A standard tool to assess patient's risk for falls;
2. Routine assessment of patient's medication and their risk for falls;
3. Routine consultation with pharmacy when a patient is at high risk for falls due to medications;
4. A standard way to communicate to all caregivers those patients that are at high risk for falls;
5. Signage to remind patients to use call lights to ask for assistance when getting up; and
6. Implementation of universal precautions used for all patients such as:

• Non-skid footwear.
• Education to patient about risk of falls due to unfamiliar surroundings.
• Orientation of patient to surroundings.
• Adequate lighting.
• Call light within reach.
• Elimination of environmental clutter.
• Locking wheels on beds, wheelchairs, etc.

* The NHSN averages vary according to the type of patients (i.e., pediatric, medical, trauma) in the intensive care unit and are updated on a yearly basis.