New CAUTI Bundle Minimizes Harm

Written by Jefferson Geiger

To prevent Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI), a new checklist has been implemented at San Luis Valley Health to make sure operations run smoothly. Surgeons and nurses have been educated in regards to the checklist so that the roughly 150 insertions a month do not cause a patient harm.

The main purpose of the bundle is that it provides an easy format to document catheter insertion.

“They can review to make sure they did everything they were supposed to,” said Operating Room Technician Annarae Martinez. “If sterile technique was broken, they’re more apt to look at the checklist and make sure it doesn’t happen again. You get into a habit and do things without thinking about it so this helps staff stay on track.”

Another bonus to the bundle is that it keeps a patient’s information organized.

“It’s a physical sheet so if the patient is transferred to another unit, nurses are aware of what’s been done,” stated Martinez.

“Other industries have been doing checklists for a while, but it is just now catching on in healthcare.”