Ann Scheck McAlearney, ScD, MS, is the executive director of CATALYST and a professor of family medicine at The Ohio State University. She spoke in Argentina about the SMART project, which is designed to identify the organizational and structural practices that are associated with better performance at reducing and preventing health care-associated infections (HAIs). It is focused on central line-associated blood stream infections (CLABSIs) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs), and involves both intensive care units (ICUs) and medical/surgical units. 

Hospitals are in need of guidance in terms of both how to successfully translate HAI-reduction efforts such as the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) to non-ICU settings (clinical practice) and how to shape context (management practice) – including both culture and management strategies – to proactively support clinical teams. By developing, validating and deploying a national HAI Management Practice Guideline Survey, first across Ohio hospitals and then with hospital partners nationwide, the SMART project aims to create a generalizable management practice toolkit that can then be leveraged in the improvement of other HAI outcomes.