Critical care nursing quarterly
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Preventing hospital-acquired infections, including ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), has become a priority for Wyoming Medical Center. Despite the implementation of a standardized care bundle protocol to reduce the facility's high rate of VAP, rates of VAP remained higher than the national benchmark. ⋯ The VAP committee implemented a VAP bundle protocol and adopted the use of a polyurethane endotracheal tube on the basis of literature review. These interventions, in addition to comprehensive education and the synergism between physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists, have not only reduced the center's VAP rate but also prevented the occurrences of VAP during 33 consecutive months.