Ohio Patient Safety Insititute announces federal funding for new initiative

The Ohio Patient Safety Insititute announced that it has received $190,000 in federal funds to launch a program to reduce hospital-acquired bloodstream infections (Source: “Hospital safety institute launching program with federal cash,” Cincinnati Business Journal, June 15, 2009)

The funds were secured by Sen. Sherrod Brown. According to Brown’s office, a similar intiative in Michigan is estimated to have saved 1,700 lives and $250 million. While no formal goals have been set for the Ohio project, organizers say they are optimistic that they can acheive similar results.

The Ohio Patient Safety Institute was founded in 2000 by the Ohio Hospital Association, the Ohio State Medical Association and the Ohio Osteopathic Association. OPSI has released a fact sheet (pdf, 2 pages) detailing it's new bloodstream infection intiatitive.