Healthcare Quality

The Agency for HealthCare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Intensive Care Units for Newborns in Nine States Student: Professor: Course title: Date: Intensive Care Units for Newborns in Nine States Hospital neonatal Intensive care units in nine US states are a program initiated by the Agency for healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The program is expected to reduce or eliminate the Central line related bloodstream infections by more than 50% within a one-year timeframe. Under this program, health practitioners have successively relied on the practice checklist of the program, and better communication mechanisms in curbing approximately 132 infections and more than 45 deaths. Additionally, the program is poised to avoid more than $2 million in health care costs nationally. The nine state programs in NICUs is part of the AHRQ funded effort in preventing CLABSIs nationwide throughout the nation. CLABSIs are related infections, which cause serious sicknesses, and even deaths in young children as well as adults. Preliminary results of the project indicate that, the program helped to reduce CLABSIs cases in both infants and adults. The NICUs program concentrate on offering treatment to premature, small, as well as congenitally ill infants. Some of these infants emanate from higher- order multiple births while others are those that were born too early. NICUs programs are primarily concerned on saving premature babies and those with ill health. It was reported from the early years that a higher number of children grow with various forms of disabilities such as HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_palsy" \o "Cerebral palsy"cerebral palsy and learning problems. The development of treatment mechanisms for these kinds of ailments has necessitated research in how to minimizing long-term disability; follow up, as well as other problems (Baker, 2000). Alongside low birth weight and prematurity, NICU program also aims to deal with other problems such as HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perinatal_asphyxia" \o "Perinatal asphyxia"perinatal asphyxia, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sepsis" \o "Sepsis"sepsis, HYPERLINK "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neonatal_jaundice" \o "Neonatal jaundice"neonatal jaundice, respiratory problems, and other major birth defects. NICUs and Neonatology programs are poised to increase the survival rate of infants with low birth weight as well as those that are born premature. Before NICUs programs were initiated, children who were born with less than 1400 grams rarely survived. Presently, such children and even those with lesser weight or more complications have higher chances of survival. Quality measures in NICUs are employed in evaluating the percentage of infants that have birth weight which is less than 1000 grams that are admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit during a specific time frame. The rationale for the measurement is that, the early onset of infant infections is mostly obtained from the mother in the course of the birth process. AHRQ posts that; a good number of such infections may be prevented through strict adherence to the required standards of maternal care. Preve...