HAP Achievement Awards: UPMC

July 25, 2025

HAP's annual Achievement Awards honor hospitals and health systems for their innovation, creativity, and commitment to patient care. The Achievement Awards showcase and share member hospitals’ and health systems’ successful programs and best practices.

UPMC received the Excellence in Care Award for leading a multi-site initiative to improve adherence to sepsis guidelines, enhancing neonatal care and reducing maternal-infant separation.

Here’s what you need to know:

• The challenge:  Using maternal infection signs to guide eosinophil (EOS) evaluations led clinicians to overtreat healthy newborns, exposing them to unnecessary testing, antibiotics, and family separation.
• Addressing the Issue:  A systemwide review revealed significant variation in EOS protocols, prompting efforts to standardize evidence-based care and reduce unnecessary interventions.
• Taking Action:  Applying Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s Breakthrough Series Collaborative Model for Improvement, the team standardized EOS screening across sites through structured planning, staff training, tailored support, and centralized data tools to sustain long-term improvement.
• Results:  Systemwide efforts resulted in a 55 percent reduction in unnecessary antibiotic use, 60 percent fewer blood tests, a 16.5 percent decrease in maternal-infant separation, and full adherence to evidence-based EOS screening guidelines.
• Advancing Care:  In describing the broader outcome of their approach, the team shared: “Together these elements foster a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes and more consistent care across our entire healthcare system.”

Congratulations to UPMC for its outstanding efforts to enhance patient safety and care outcomes. Learn more about the project online.

Questions about the HAP Achievement Awards may be directed to HAP Member Services at (717) 561-5359.