Einstein Hosts National Conference on MRSA Initiative

Jan.8-9 Event Highlights Successful Reduction of Infection Rates at Six Sites

Philadelphia, PA, January 4, 2008 - Albert Einstein Healthcare Network is proud to host the culminating event of a groundbreaking project aimed at reducing the spread of a dangerous drug-resistant staph germ. Einstein's SMASH team -- or "Stop MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) Acquisition and Spread in our Hospitals" -- will host the "Positive Deviance: Busting the MRSA Myth" conference on January 8-9, 2008, at Albert Einstein Medical Center, 5501 Old York Road in Philadelphia.

SMASH has reduced the MRSA infection rate by nearly 30 percent, from 0.55 cases per 1,000 patient days in early 2006 to 0.39 cases per 1,000 patient days from July-December 2007. In real numbers, 19 fewer patients acquired MRSA infections in 2007, undoubtedly saving lives.

"Positive deviance not only has succeeded in keeping patients safe and reducing MRSA infections. It also reinforces Einstein's continued commitment to innovation and quality improvement," said Jeffrey Cohn, MD, Einstein's Chief Quality Officer.

The positive deviance approach relies on those who already are following protocol to come together and find ways to encourage others to imitate their good behavior. The initiative includes taking such steps as posting prominent reminders to wash hands, doing surveillance cultures, identifying patients with MRSA, and coming together for discovery and action dialogues.

Einstein adopted the positive deviance approach with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's positive deviance/MRSA eradication initiative and facilitated by the Plexus Institute. Five other healthcare institutions are participating in this pioneering research project and will be attending the Jan. 8-9 event.

Those sites are Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore; the University of Louisville, Kentucky; Billings Clinic of Billings, Montana; Franklin Square Hospital in Baltimore, and Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Representatives from all six sites will present their learnings and results using positive deviance thus far.

Einstein is sharing its SMASH results with other hospitals in the Philadelphia region through the Health Care Improvement Foundation's Partnership for Patient Care through its MRSA initiative.

The story of positive deviance's use to tackle MRSA began in 2005, when Plexus received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch a pioneering initiative partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tufts University and other healthcare organizations.

Nationwide, as many as five percent of hospital and nursing home patients may be infected with MRSA, according to a survey released Monday, June 25, 2007, by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. The MRSA germ can't be tamed by certain common antibiotics. It is associated with skin infections, but also causes blood infections, pneumonia and other illnesses.

Publish date: January 4, 2008