High-Quality Care. Exceptional Outcomes.
At Connecticut Children’s, quality care and patient safety are two of our most important goals. Built on a culture of continual improvement and compassionate care, we use evidence-based care models and partner with patients and families to ensure we are providing the highest quality care and exceptional outcomes. We also collaborate with healthcare professionals across the organization on many quality improvement projects that lead to better outcomes for our patients. All hospital leaders attend daily safety meetings where they can report any current or potential safety issues. This meeting brings together nurses, physicians and administrators, who are all focused on doing what is best for our patients and families.
Learn More About Quality & Safety
Compassionate, high-quality care and patient safety are at the heart of everything we do.
Patient Experience: Optimizing Patient Care
At Connecticut Children’s, we rely on feedback from our patients and families about the care they have received so we can learn and grow.
Family Advisory Council: Learning From Our Patients and Families
Our Family Advisory Councils, comprised of patients across multiple specialty areas and hospital staff, meet regularly to discuss patient care and ways to improve care delivery for patients and families.
Quality and Patient Safety Resources
Explore more about Connecticut Children’s commitment to patient quality and safety.
Connecticut Children’s is proud to participate in this collaborative of 140+ children’s hospitals working together to prevent hospital-acquired conditions. The collaborative recognied Connecticut Children's as Hospital of the Month twice in the last three years.
The Joint Commission, an independent, not-for-profit organization, accredits and certifies more than 15,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States. Joint Commission accreditation and certification is recognized nationwide as a symbol of quality that reflects an organization’s commitment to meeting certain performance standards.
Connecticut Children’s has been accredited by the Joint Commission since opening its doors in 1996, and has maintained its certification by adhering to a strict set of standards. We have teams that inspect all areas of the hospital to make sure each area is following these standards. Twice a month, trained teams conduct a survey just like the Joint Commission’s to help us to improve and always be ready.
Connecticut Children’s is committed to delivering quality medical care to pediatric patients and to making their stay as pleasant as possible. We encourage patients and their families to speak openly with their health care team, take part in treatment choices, and promote their own safety by being well informed and involved in their care. Please read our Patient and Family Bill of Rights and Responsibility to learn more.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is the agency within the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) that administers Medicare and Medicaid programs. Connecticut Children’s consults with the Quality of Care Center, which provides information about various CMS quality initiatives designed to improve the overall healthcare system.
Quality and Safety Highlights
A central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) is an infection occurring when bacteria travel along the IV tubing into the bloodstream.
The National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) calculates standardized rate (SIR) based on the national aggregate NHSN data from 2015. It is risk adjusted for location, hospital beds, medical school affiliation type and facility type. The rate is reported out as Better than Expected, As Expected, or Worse than Expected.
What we are doing to improve?
At Connecticut Children’s we utilize CLABSI maintenance and insertion care bundles which when implemented result in a decrease in this type of infection from occurring. Discussions regarding the necessity of the line occurs during daily rounds.
| CY2019 | CY2020 | CY2021 | CY2022 | CY2023 |
| As Expected | As Expected | Better Than Expected | Better Than Expected | As Expected |
A catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is an infection involving any part of the urinary system, including urethra, bladder, ureters, and kidney, from use of a bladder catheter. A bladder catheter is a tube that is inserted into the bladder. It may be needed when a patient has trouble urinating on their own, or if physicians need an exact measurement of urine volume to assist in patient care. Bacteria can travel along this tube and lead to an infection in the bladder or kidney.
What we are doing to improve?
At Connecticut Children’s we utilize CAUTI maintenance and insertion care bundles which when implemented result in a decrease in this type of infection from occurring. Discussions regarding the necessity of the line occurs during daily rounds. We incurred zero CAUTIs for more than two years (February 2017-March 2019), which is a significant achievement.
| CY2019 | CY2020 | CY2021 | CY2022 | CY2023 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Left without being seen (LWBS) is defined as a patient who is registered in the Emergency Department but leaves before being seen by a healthcare provider.
What are we doing to improve?
At Connecticut Children’s we have many initiatives in place to decrease the number of registered patients leaving the Emergency Department before being seen. These initiatives include: improved triage workflow and patient registration process, improved patient experience by keeping patients and families updated on wait times, and increased staffing during busier times. (National Benchmark is 2%).
| CY2019 | CY2020 | CY2021 | CY2022 | CY2023 |
| .6% | .5% | 4.4% | 5.8% | 2% |
Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a highly contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory system, which includes the nose, bronchial tubes, and lungs. Many who contract influenza will be sick for only a few days, but some have a more serious illness and may need to be hospitalized. Achieving high influenza vaccination rates of children and health care personnel is a critical step in preventing transmission of influenza. According to current national guidelines, unless contraindicated, all people aged 6 months and older should be screened and vaccinated unless contraindicated by their physician.
What are we doing to improve?
At Connecticut Children’s we recognize that annual vaccination is the most important measure to prevent seasonal influenza infection. During the months of October through March the health care team will screen all patients who are admitted to the hospital and will offer the influenza vaccine if indicated. In efforts to minimize and prevent the spread of influenza to the patients and families cared for at Connecticut Children’s, employees are required to receive the influenza vaccine annually.
| 2018-2019 | 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 |
| 93% | 81% | 71% | 66% | 62% |
Practicing hand hygiene is a simple yet effective way to prevent infections.
What we are doing to improve?
At Connecticut Children’s we are focused on hand hygiene practices with all the staff. We have a program in place which instructs healthcare providers to “wash in, wash out” every time they come in contact with a patient. We also have a 200% accountability motto which states that a healthcare provider is not only accountable for washing their own hands but they are accountable for assuring that other healthcare providers they are working with are doing the same. This also includes a reminder to create an atmosphere of kindness by thanking anyone who reminds the staff member to wash their hands.
A surgical site infection is an infection that occurs after surgery in the part of the body where the surgery took place. Surgical site infections can sometimes be superficial infections involving the skin only. Other surgical site infections are more serious and can involve tissues under the skin, organs or implanted material. Symptoms include: redness and pain around the area where the surgery occurred, drainage of cloudy fluid from the surgical wound and fever.
What we are doing to improve?
At Connecticut Children’s we utilize a Surgical Site Infection prevention bundle which, when implemented, results in a decreased risk of acquiring an infection. This bundle of care includes preoperative bathing, appropriate antibiotic timing, skin antisepsis preparation and no razor use to maintain skin integrity.