Safety & Quality

At MD Anderson, providing a safe and caring environment is our highest priority. In the Children's Cancer Hospital, the primary focus is on delivering exceptional, high-quality patient care in a secure setting for all patients and their families. To evaluate and enhance our performance, we actively track safety and quality data, allowing us to identify areas of high performance and areas where continuous improvement can further strengthen our performance.

We believe in the importance of sharing complete and accurate data on quality and safety. The quality and safety measures outlined here represent only some of the data we use to assess and refine the care we deliver. The information we share is grounded in nationally recognized standards for quality and safety in healthcare organizations. These standards guide our efforts to maintain and elevate the level of care we provide.

Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)

As part of some children’s treatment, they will receive a central venous catheter (CVC), which is a small plastic tube like an IV inserted into a larger blood vessel. This catheter is used to deliver fluids and medications, and to collect blood samples for laboratory testing. With every central line, there is a risk of developing a Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection (CLABSI). A CLABSI can occur if bacteria enter the bloodstream through the catheter. To monitor and prevent CLABSI, we keep track of the number of central line bloodstream infections for hospitalized patients. We employ evidence-based strategies to reduce the occurrence of CLABSI, and these data help us assess the effectiveness of our efforts.

Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an infection that involves any part of the urinary system, such as the urethra, bladder, ureters and kidney. If you have a urinary catheter, bacteria or yeast can sometimes pass through the catheter and cause a bladder or kidney infection, also known as a Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection (CAUTI).

The tracking of CAUTI cases is a critical component of our strategy. These data help us identify patterns, understand the effectiveness of our current practices, and pinpoint areas for improvement, ultimately enhancing patient safety and care quality.

Patient Falls with Injury

Cancer patients, regardless of age, have an increased risk of falling. Risk factors such as balance problems, weakness, side effects from cancer treatment, and reactions to medications may place patients at higher risk for falls. Preventing a patient fall is a top safety priority. Each patient’s care team will assess and manage any underlying fall risk factors and optimize the hospital environment to prevent a fall. Call Don’t Fall- Always ask for assistance for a patient who feels weak or unsteady.

By tracking patient fall data, we assess our fall prevention strategies and continually learn and implement new ways to keep our patients safe.

Hand Hygiene

All staff make sure our hands are clean before and after every patient encounter. Compliance with hand hygiene helps reduce the spread of infections in the hospital. Hand hygiene data is collected monthly through direct observation of staff performing hand washing or hand sanitation using an approved hand sanitizer gel. Don’t hesitate to ask people to wash their hands before coming in contact with your child, including doctors, nurses or other healthcare workers. You are your child’s best advocate. We encourage you to speak up. 

Surgical Site Infections (SSI)

Surgery can be an important part of a child’s medical care. With any surgical procedure, there can be some risks, including infections. The Surgical Site Infection (SSI) rate consists of the number of surgical cases per 100 trips to the operating room where a patient developed an infection following surgery. For patients who have certain surgical operations, we track the number of SSIs to make sure we are effective in our efforts to reduce SSIs.

Reducing the rate of SSI is a top patient safety priority. At MD Anderson we have safe practices in place to reduce the risk of infection. To help prevent SSIs, you will receive instructions to follow before and after your child’s surgery.