Reassessing the need for active surveillance of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in the neonatal intensive care population.

Objective: To determine the continued need for active surveillance to prevent extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) transmission in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Design: This retrospective observational study included patients with ESBL-E colonization or infection identified during their NICU stay at our institution between 1999 and March 2018. Active surveillance was conducted between 1999 and March 2017 by testing rectal swab specimens collected upon admission and weekly thereafter.

10,000 Good Catches: Increasing Safety Event Reporting In A Pediatric Health Care System.

Background: In 2014, Children's National Health System's executive leadership team challenged the organization to double the number of voluntary safety event reports submitted over a 3-year period; the intent was to increase reliability and promote our safety culture by hardwiring employee event reporting.

Methods: Following a Donabedian quality improvement framework of structure, process, and outcomes, a multidisciplinary team was formed and areas for improvement were identified. The multidisciplinary team focused on 3 major areas: the perceived ease of reporting (ie, how difficult is it to report an event?); the perceived safety of reporting (ie, will I get in trouble for reporting?); and the perceived impact of reporting (ie, does my report make a difference?) technology, making it safe to report, and how reporting makes a difference.

2017 Visionary Leader: Maureen Maurano.

The following manuscript is the winning 2017 Richard Hader Visionary Leader Award entry submitted to Nursing Management in recognition of Maureen Maurano, BSN, RN, nurse manager of the neonatal intensive care unit at Children's National Health System in Washington, D.C. Ms.

Improving hand hygiene compliance in health care workers: Strategies and impact on patient outcomes.

Background: We described a systematic process for improving hand hygiene (HH) compliance in health care providers and assessed the impact of HH on patient outcomes.

Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted between July 2008 and September 2011 in a children's hospital. We employed failure mode effectiveness analysis to identify barriers for complying with HH requirements and instituted improvement measures.