St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital has received an Outstanding Leadership Award from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its achievements in eliminating ventilator-associated pneumonia. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital was one of only two Texas hospitals among the 37 hospital and healthcare facilities recognized, and the only Houston hospital on the list.

“This acknowledgment validates our ongoing dedication to deliver Faithful, Loving Care^® to our patients,” said Margaret M. Van Bree, CEO of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital and senior vice president, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System. “I am so proud of our highly-skilled, critical care clinical teams who work tirelessly to reduce health care-associated infections to ensure safety outcomes for our patients.”

HHS created the new national awards program, in collaboration with the Critical Care Societies Collaborative, to recognize successful and sustained efforts to combat health care-associated infections, especially in critical care settings. HAIs are infections, which are acquired while patients are receiving medical treatment for other conditions and affect one in every 20 U.S. patients, costing the nation billions of dollars annually.

“People enter a hospital expecting to get healthier, not sicker,” said Assistant Secretary for Health, Howard K. Koh, M.D. “We applaud St. Luke’s for its efforts in improving the quality and safety of healthcare for all Americans.”

The awards highlight hospital efforts in two areas—prevention of central-line associated bloodstream infections and prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia. Organizations receive either the Outstanding Leadership Award for meeting infection-prevention goals for at least 25 months, or the Sustained Improvement Award for consistent progress during an 18-to-24-month period.