Health Improvement Campaign (IHI)

Despite the extraordinary hard work and best intentions of caregivers, thousands of patients are harmed in US hospitals every day. Hospital-acquired infections, adverse drug events, surgical errors, pressure sores, and other complications are not uncommon.

When the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) launched its 100,000 Lives Campaign in 2004, Palmetto Health became one of its 3,100 hospitals to reduce preventable deaths in the US. IHI is an independent not-for-profit organization helping to lead the improvement of health care throughout the world. Through IHI and its partner organizations' interventions, combined with other national and local improvement efforts, an estimated 122,000 lives were saved in 18 months. Along the way, nothing less than new standards of care began to emerge. 

In 2006, the IHI initiative expanded to its Five Million Lives Campaign, a voluntary initiative to protect patients from five million incidents of medical harm over two years, December 2006 - December 2008. Palmetto Health voluntarily joined the more ambitious effort.

Building on the success of the 100,000 Lives and Five Million Lives campaign, the IHI is now engaging with hospitals to improve care by focusing on a vital set of process improvements to achieve the highest level of care possible.  It will focus on the shortest route to the best outcomes.  The Improvement Map: Reliable Routes to Exceptional Hospital Care will cover a vast area of hospital care that has yet been covered.

There are many other patient safety initiatives underway that align with these objectives. Palmetto Health collaborates with many other superb efforts to focus on programs to achieve unprecedented results. 

For more information see How We Measure Quality.