CDC honors hospitals and health systems for VTE prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday recognized hospitals and health systems for implementing innovative and more effective ways to prevent venous thromboembolisms in the health care setting. Patients who are hospitalized, recovering from surgery or being treated for cancer are at risk for these deadly blood clots, which can form in deep veins and/or the lungs. Honored as  “champions” in the Healthcare-Associated VTE Challenge were Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; University of California Health, Center for Health Quality and Innovation, Oakland, CA; University of Wisconsin Health, Madison; Intermountain Healthcare, Murray, UT; Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago; The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Harborview Medical Center, Seattle; and Hutchinson (KS) Regional Medical Center. Receiving honorable mention in the challenge were Michigan Hospital Medicine Safety Consortium, Ann Arbor; Sheppard Pratt Hospital, Baltimore; Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; and University of Cincinnati (OH) Medical Center. “Healthcare-associated VTE is a serious and growing public health problem,” said CDC Director Thomas Frieden, M.D. “These challenge winners saved lives by implementing innovative VTE prevention strategies in their institutions. We can all learn from their ideas and work together to protect patients from developing deadly blood clots.”