MEDIA RELEASE

At Kona Community Hospital, Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAIs) are trending down across all infection types. The third quarter 2012 HAI Surveillance Report indicated that HAIs have been on the decline at KCH for the entire year.

HAIs are infections caused by bacteria, fungi or viruses in the course of receiving care in any healthcare setting, including hospitals.

KCH Infection Control Director, Lisa Downing, RN said the hospital has been developing policies and programs that adhere to proven infection prevention measures. Success is due to continued attention to infection prevention protocols by a hospital-wide multidisciplinary team.

“Wherever patient care is provided at KCH, we are focusing on adherence to infection prevention guidelines in order to ensure safe patient care,” Downing said.

She attributes effective teamwork by all hospital departments.

Downing said, “This is not one department doing a good job. It is a team of dedicated staff working together to reduce infections and provide excellent patient care.”

KCH has just wrapped up a two-year collaborative effort with Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH). This collaboration was aimed specifically at reducing central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.

Further, in September 2012, the hospital entered into a statewide Surgical Unit Safety Program (SUSP) to target and reduce surgical site infections. This is a 27-month collaborative with Johns Hopkins Medicine, the American College of Surgeons and the World Health Organization.

Founded in 1914, KCH is a 94-bed full-service acute care hospital with 24-hour emergency department recently designated as a Level III trauma center supporting the west region of the island of Hawaii.

It is a member of the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation, a special agency of the state of Hawaii established in 1996. It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.