Rambam Health Care Campus tops the list of large Israeli hospitals in infection prevention, moving from last place to first place in two years.
A member of Rambam's Infection Unit team in action. Photography: Pioter Fliter.
According to a report released last week by Israel’s Ministry of Health, Rambam Health Care Campus tops the list of large hospitals with more than 700 beds in the prevention of infections. This is a special achievement for Rambam, which moved from last place to first place in just two years.
The Ministry of Health's Infection Prevention Program is one of their most important projects begun in recent years, and is based on requirements for action and performance criteria. In order to promote the issue, the Ministry distributes tens of millions of shekels in incentives to hospitals in order to reduce the extent of infections. Hospitals are measured by their achievements in 28 different metrics, including organizational and professional infrastructure, monitoring and training on hand hygiene and cleanliness, infrastructure supporting infection prevention, infection diagnosis processes, infection monitoring, antibiotic use management, employee vaccines, and more.
Rambam, the only Level 1 trauma center in the north and one of the largest hospitals in Israel, has previously received low grades in this area, partly due to the complexity in implementing infection prevention procedures in a hospital that focuses on the most difficult cases in the northern region on such a large scale. Within two years, and after investing a great deal of effort and many resources, there was a huge improvement this year in hospital performance across all measured categories.
“We are talking about a process with many partners,” says Dr. Michael Halberthal, Rambam's Director and CEO. “From the medical and nursing staff who are responsible for infection-related issues, through the teams responsible for implementing changes throughout the hospital and strict implementation of infection prevention measures. This is a collaborative effort that depends solely on us, and is first and foremost for our patients. It is in our hands, quite literally, and I'm proud of every partner.”
It also should be noted that Rambam's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) recently received the highest scores in an inspection carried out by the Ministry of Health ranking all of the NICUs in Israel for 2019, making it the best NICU in Israel. In addition, it is one of two NICUs in Israel that recorded the largest improvement between 2018 and 2019.
