Consumer Reports: St. Luke’s Among Best at Infection Control

Bethlehem, PA (12/07/2016) – St. Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill was named by Consumer Reports to a list of the best major teaching hospitals in the U.S. at preventing central line infections in Intensive Care Units.

A recent story, “Zero Tolerance for Deadly Hospital-Acquired Infections,” says St. Luke’s University Hospital is one of only two teaching hospitals in Pennsylvania—and the only one in the Lehigh Valley—to be recognized among the nation’s best in this critical-care area.

“St. Luke’s has been focused on, and diligent in providing all evidenced-based care in our ICUs to prevent infection,” Donna Sabol, St. Luke’s vice president and chief quality officer, said. “Our friends and neighbors can rest assured that they’re receiving high quality care when choosing St. Luke’s.”

The rating is based on data collected between 2011 and 2015, and uses information hospitals provided to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to calculate its results.
For each of those years, St. Luke’s University Hospital received Consumer Reports’ second highest rating. That means the information used for St. Luke’s indicates the Network was at least 50 percent better than the historic average.

The historic average used as a baseline to compare current numbers is the central-line infection rate in U.S. Hospitals from 2006 through 2008, according to the magazine.
In total 32 teaching hospitals were named to the top performers list. The Consumer Reports publication also includes a list of 31 poor performing teaching hospitals for infections in Intensive Care Units.

Hospital-acquired infections are the nation’s eight leading cause of death. Central line-associated infections account for five percent of all hospital-acquired infections. The average cost to treat a central line infection is $46,000.

“We are extremely proud of this recognition,” Sabol said.

About St. Luke’s

Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a non-profit, regional, fully integrated and nationally recognized network providing services at seven hospitals and more than 270 outpatient sites. The network’s service area includes Lehigh, Northampton, Carbon, Schuylkill, Bucks, Montgomery, Berks and Monroe counties in Pennsylvania and in Warren County in New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing health education, St. Luke’s operates the nation’s oldest School of Nursing and 22 graduate medical educational programs and is considered a major teaching hospital, the only one in the region. In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the region’s first Medical School. Repeatedly, including 2016, St. Luke’s has earned Truven’s 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation as well as 50 Top Cardiovascular program in addition to other honors for clinical excellence. St. Luke’s is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of St. Luke’s information technology applications such as electronic medical records, telehealth, online scheduling and pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers in comparison to major teaching hospitals and other health systems.