Building on the success of the PD initiative within the UHN, Gardam successfully obtained funding from the CPSI to facilitate a second, more ambitious PD initiative aimed at reducing HAIs in hospitals across Canada. As of June 4, 2012, more than 50 healthcare regions or facilities had signed on to participate, representing a significant percentage of the total 1,172 hospitals located throughout the country.
Unfortunately, the diverse geographic location of the different hospitals made it impractical, if not impossible, for the PD team to visit and collaborate with each facility. In addition, all of the time Gardam spent involved with the PD initiative was completely voluntary; he was still maintaining his full-time duties as the director of the Infection Prevention and Control Unit at the UHN. As a realistic alternative, Gardam opted to provide a series of online webinar sessions, using WebEx to communicate with different teams across the country, training them in the background of the PD program and the facilitation techniques.
As Gardam finished his webinar, he prepared to re-engage with the multitude of activities that awaited him within the hospital. He wondered how to best ensure that the success experienced by the PD initiative within the UHN could be transferred to other locations throughout the country.
The ability to reduce HAIs represented a significant opportunity to save patient lives and improve the quality of health care, as well as better utilizing hospital resources that could translate into millions of dollars in saved healthcare costs. Furthermore, the potential to expand the PD initiative existed not only within Canada but in countries around the world. Ultimately, the only kind of infection that Gardam wanted to see thriving in hospitals was the participation and innovation he was facilitating with this new communications initiative.