New Mexico's Health Quality Improvement Organization

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) 5 Million Lives Campaign

The 5 Million Lives Campaign is an initiative to protect patients from five million incidents of medical harm that began in December 2006 and will end in December 2008. This Campaign builds upon the success of the 100,000 Lives Campaign, in which 3,100 participating hospitals reduced inpatient deaths by an estimated 122,000 in 18 months (ending July 2006) through overall improvement in care, including improvement associated with six interventions recommended by the initiative.

The New Mexico Medical Review Association (NMMRA) and the New Mexico Hospital Association, serving together as the New Mexico Campaign Node, support hospital efforts to implement these initiatives and can help by keeping participating hospitals updated on the progress of others in the state and across the nation.

New Interventions Targeted at Harm

Prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection ... by reliably implementing scientifically proven infection control practices throughout the hospital
Reduce harm from high-alert medications ... starting with a focus on anticoagulants, sedatives, narcotics, and insulin
Reduce surgical complications ... by reliably implementing the changes in care recommended by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)
Prevent pressure ulcers ... by reliably using science-based guidelines for prevention of this serious and common complication
Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for congestive heart failure … to reduce readmissions
Get boards on board … by defining and spreading new and leveraged processes for hospital boards of directors, so they can become far more effective in accelerating the improvement of care

The Six Interventions from the 100,000 Lives Campaign

Deploy Rapid Response Teams … at the first sign of patient decline – and before a catastrophic cardiac or respiratory event
Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for acute myocardial infarction … to prevent deaths from heart attack
Prevent adverse drug events … by reconciling patient medications at every transition point in care
Prevent central line infections ... by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps
Prevent surgical site infections ... by following a series of steps, including reliable, timely administration of correct perioperative antibiotics
Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia ... by implementing a series of interdependent, scientifically grounded steps

As a campaign node, NMMRA supports New Mexico hospitals through regular communications with participants and by sharing tools and techniques to improve patient care. Access recent and sign up to receive future Campaign Update - New Mexico e-newsletters and download additional IHI Campaign Resources.