Learn more about what PinnacleHealth is doing to reduce infections and complications through proper blood sugar management.
- We are proud to say that PinnacleHealth is the only hospital in the whole state of Pennsylvania to get the Gold Seal of Approval® from the Joint Commission (JCAHO) for improving care of diabetic patients in the Hospital. We are among 20 Hospitals across the country to get this recognition. This demonstrates our commitment to excellence in providing disease specific care.
- Our Blood sugar control is among the Top 5 Hospitals when compared with ROSCH data across the country.
- Our low blood sugar rates are much lower when compared nationwide: 1% in ICU when compared to 5 % nationwide.
- Because of our good blood sugar control, our diabetic patients are discharged much sooner from the Hospital, which decreases the chance of infection.
- Our bypass population blood sugar is very tightly controlled in the hospital to improve sternal wound infections. We have not had a deep sternal wound infection since 2010. Blood sugar control is one of the many reasons among others to improve this.
- Our transplant population also does very well due to better blood glucose control. We have not had any site infection for these patients since 2008.
- We have very standardized care of our patients who are coming for surgery so their blood sugar does not increase after surgery. We are successful in keeping a our average blood sugar to < 180 before and after surgery.
The Data & Outcomes
Through an institution-wide diabetes clinical initiative, PinnacleHealth has improved patient care for individuals with diabetes. This initiative focuses on controlling blood sugar levels, yielding shorter length of stays and reducing risk of complications. Since 2002, PinnacleHealth has steadily closed the gap to get patients’ blood sugar down to 110 for the intensive care unit (ICU) and below 150 for the remainder of the nursing units. The links below show the proven success of our diabetes initiative.