In 2002, the ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) rate at Owensboro (KY) Medical Health System was “way too high,” reaching 22 incidents per 1,000 ventilator days, says Sherry O’Bryan, RN, MSN, ICU manager at the facility.

By comparison, a national benchmark at the time was 8.7 incidents per 1,000 ventilator days.

Facility officials knew they needed to take action and decided on a goal: to cut the number of VAP infections in half in 18 months using the VAP bundle promoted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, MA.