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Safety and Outcomes Data

At Dell Children’s, your child’s health and safety is our top priority. We’re committed to providing high-quality care to your child and your family.

Dell Children’s Safety and Outcomes Data

We know you want the best possible care for your child. At Dell Children’s, your child’s health and safety is our top priority. We’re committed to providing high-quality care to your child and your family. In order to see how we’re doing as a Children’s Hospital, we track our outcomes data and share it with our patients and families. Outcomes data measures how a patient is doing at the end of their treatment. This data can be used to help you make informed decisions about your child’s care. See below for our most recent outcomes data.

Dell Children's Public Reporting of Quality & Patient Safety Measures

Catheter-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSI)

If a patient is in the hospital, a central line (tube inserted into the body to deliver medications) may be put in. Patients with a central lines may be at risk of developing blood infections, known as a CLABSI.

Why is this important? These blood infections can lead to other complications. This can lead to longer hospital stays and additional costs.

How is this measured? We look at CLABSI as a rate; the rate is calculated by the number of times patients experienced a blood infection from a central line per 1000 line days. A line day is counted each day a patient is in the hospital and a line is present.

How do we compare? Dell Children’s CLABSI rate is similar to other children’s hospitals.
Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections (CAUTI)

If a patient is in the hospital, they may need a urinary catheter (tube inserted into the urethra to measure the amount of urine the patient is making). Patients with urinary catheters may be at risk of developing urinary tract infections, known as a CAUTI.

Why is this important? These urinary tract infections can lead to other complications. This can lead to longer hospital stays and additional costs.

How is this measured? We look at CAUTI as a rate; the rate is calculated by the number of times patients experienced a urinary tract infection from a urinary catheter per 1000 catheter days. A catheter day is counted each day a patient is in the hospital with a catheter present.

How do we compare? Dell Children’s CAUTI rate is similar to other children’s hospitals.
Infections after surgery

These infections, known as surgical site infections, happen after surgery in the area of the body where the surgery took place.

Why is this important? These infections can be serious, and may spread throughout the body. This can lead to a longer recovery time and additional costs.

How is this measured? We look at surgical site infection as a rate; the rate is calculated by the number of times patients experienced an infection after surgery per 100 surgeries. We look at all surgeries, but the data collected for the graph is related to colon surgeries, heart surgeries, neurological shunt surgeries and spinal fusions.

How do we compare? Dell Children’s surgical site infection rate is similar to other children’s hospitals for colon surgeries, heart surgeries, neurological shunt surgeries and spinal fusions, but the total rate is slightly higher for the combined SSI.
Pressure Injury

A pressure injury is a sore or wound on the skin that can happen when a patient has a medical device that is not padded or the patient is not properly repositioned. These can also happen when a patient is too sick to be turned or tilted.

Why is this important? Advanced pressure injuries (also known as stage 3, stage 4, or unstageable pressure injuries) can become large and very deep, leading to pain and infection.

How is this measured? We look at PI as a rate; the rate is calculated by the number of times patients experienced a stage 3, stage 4, or unstageable PI (pressure injury) per 1000 patient days. A patient day is counted for each day a patient is in the hospital.

How do we compare? Dell Children’s PI (pressure injury) rate is better than other children’s hospitals.
Patient falls

Falls can happen when patients who cannot walk on their own try to get out of the bed or go to the bathroom without help.

Why is this important? Patient falls can result in serious injury.

How is this measured? We look at falls as a rate; the rate is calculated by the number of times a patient falls and has moderate or greater injuries (needing more than ibuprofen or a band aid) per 1000 patient days. A patient day is counted for each day a patient is in the hospital.

How do we compare? Dell Children’s fall rate for all falls, even without injury, is better than other children’s hospitals. We have gone over 2 ½ years without a fall with injury.
Hand hygiene
Proper hand hygiene includes using alcohol-based hand scrub or using soap and water to clean the hands.

Why is this important? Hand hygiene is the best way to decrease the chances of infection or additional sickness in the hospital and at home.

What is expected? According the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, caregivers should use an alcohol-based hand rub or wash with soap and water when doing the following:

Before touching a patient.

Before performing a task.

Before moving from work on a soiled area on the body to a clean area on the body on the same patient.

After touching a patient or the patient’s immediate environment.

After contact with blood, body fluids, or dirty surfaces.

Immediately after glove removal.

Healthcare facilities should:

Require hospital staff to do hand hygiene as explained above.

Make sure that hospital staff do hand hygiene with soap and water when hands are noticeably dirty.

Make sure that supplies for hand hygiene are easy to find in all areas where patients are getting care.

Unless hands are noticeably dirty, an alcohol-based hand rub is better than soap and water in most patient care situations due to proof that there is better compliance compared to soap and water. Hand rubs are generally less irritating to hands and are an effective method of cleaning hands.

What is our data? We look at hand hygiene as a percentage. Caregivers are monitored for correct hand hygiene during patient care. Dell Children’s care teams perform hand hygiene correctly over 90% of the time.