Kentucky Hospital Association will be part of a national effort to reduce infections, other acquired conditions, and readmissions

The Kentucky Hospital Association says it will again be part of a national effort to reduce preventable hospital-acquired conditions and readmissions.

“Kentucky hospitals work very hard to provide the highest quality and safest care possible. We are constantly adopting new evidence-based practices to improve our patient outcomes," KHA President Michael T. Rust said in a news release. "Quality improvement is never finished, and we proudly pledge to continue finding ways to sustain the patient safety gains we’ve made, while improving overall quality and safety across Kentucky.”

KHA will participate as part of the American Hospital Association's role in one of 16 "Hospital Improvement Innovation Networks," which will work through 2019 to achieve a 20 percent reduction in overall patient harm and a 12 percent reduction in hospital readmissions within 30 days of discharge. They will also work to assure health equity for Medicare patients, the release says. All efforts will be monitored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Some areas of patient harm to be addressed include adverse drug events, infections related to central lines, surgical sites and catheters, antibiotic stewardship programs, sepsis, pressure ulcers and injuries from falls.

The release says KHA will build on its ongoing Hospital Engagement Network efforts, which has provided leadership and support for 77 Kentucky hospitals as they reduced preventable readmissions and hospital-acquired infections and other conditions over the past four years.