Navigating the Currents of Care: Reducing CAUTI in Home Health

Session Description: Our home health & hospice program operates across four diverse sites, encompassing both urban and rural settings. A notable disparity was observed at one home health site, which reported a higher incidence of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTIs) compared to others. This presentation will delve into the challenges we faced, such as establishing a consistent surveillance definition appropriate for our care setting, obtaining denominator data for accurate rate comparison, and addressing the varying levels of in-home support.
We embarked on a journey to find solutions, which included the collection of denominator data to calculate infection rates rather than relying on raw numbers. A performance improvement project was initiated to systematically explore potential solutions. Collaboration with social work was instrumental in addressing unmet patient needs and tackling social determinants of health that contribute to infection risk.
Through this comprehensive study and project implementation, we gained profound insights into our patient demographics, with a goal of reduction in CAUTI rates. Our presentation will share the knowledge acquired, the strategies implemented, and the outcomes achieved.