Bay Area Hospital Quality Initiative Saves Money, Cuts Mortality Rates

On Monday, the Beacon Collaborative, a voluntary group of 39 hospitals in five Bay Area counties, announced that its members reduced the number of hospital-acquired infections and prevented an estimated 194 deaths from April 2006 through December 2007, the San Francisco Business Times reports.

Over the 21-month period, 34 of the 39 participating hospitals prevented about 60% of the cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia expected at the facilities and an estimated 66% of cases of central line-associated bloodstream infections. The two infections are the most common types of hospital-acquired infections.

The facilities saved nearly $1.2 million by reducing the ventilator-related infections and $2.7 million by reducing the central line-related infections, according to Beacon's analysis.

Bruce Spurlock, the group's executive director, said he thinks the collaborative "can make a 25% reduction in mortality" from sepsis infections, which could save as many as 15,000 lives annually statewide.

Beacon also announced on Monday that it received a three-year, $6 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to help fund its quality improvement efforts at regional hospitals. The grants will go toward work on specific quality improvement projects.

The foundation provided $2 million to Beacon in April 2007 (Rauber, San Francisco Business Times, 4/21).