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Section: Applying CUSP to MRSA and SSI Prevention

The Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP) is an evidence-based framework that has been widely used to address patient safety and quality improvement issues. CUSP starts with the frontline staff and focuses on promoting changes in thinking and behavior to reduce preventable harm. The toolkits for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and surgical site infection (SSI) prevention were built upon concepts derived from CUSP. Utilizing CUSP in your MRSA prevention implementation efforts provides a proven framework to help your interventions succeed.

Not familiar with CUSP, or don’t have a CUSP team? Don’t worry! We are sharing the CUSP approach with you so you can use any or all of the elements to help make your projects and programs a success! Presented here are materials designed to provide an introduction to CUSP and show you how the framework can be applied to MRSA and SSI Prevention.

Prior knowledge of CUSP or an existing CUSP team is not required to implement the resources or materials within this toolkit. CUSP methods and tools have been fully integrated into the clinical material so they can be utilized on their own.

Why Choose a CUSP Approach?

If you’re new to CUSP, you may want to know exactly why we recommend the CUSP approach so highly. In this section, we take a step back and observe the impact of medical errors and preventable harm and the importance of safety culture as a part of any successful intervention. We’ll make the case for the CUSP framework as an effective approach to take on these challenges and promote success.

How To Integrate a CUSP Approach

If you’re new to CUSP, you may want to know exactly why we recommend the CUSP approach so highly. In this section, we take a step back and observe the impact of medical errors and preventable harm and the importance of safety culture as a part of any successful intervention. We’ll make the case for the CUSP framework as an effective approach to take on these challenges and promote success.

What Are the 4 Es?

The 4 Es—Engage, Educate, Execute, and Evaluate—are a useful framework to understand and guide the rollout of patient safety interventions. This structured approach supports effective implementation and fosters a culture of continuous improvement.

Translating Research Into Practice

TRiP stands for Translating Research into Practice. This framework guides systematic implementation of evidence into clinical practice to improve patient care and outcomes.

Premortem Assessment

The Premortem Tool is a proactive way to anticipate risks and failures before they actually happen. By imagining scenarios where things go wrong, teams can spot vulnerabilities and plan to mitigate them. This method encourages better decision making and improves strategic planning.

Learning From Defects

This section delves deeper into the Learning From Defects CUSP tool. This tool is helpful for learning from any adverse event that happens and using that “defect” to drive change.

The Science of Safety: Principles in Practice 

The Science of Safety teaches healthcare teams to view patient safety as the outcome of interaction among many complex systems within healthcare. It emphasizes a systems perspective and principles of safe design, as central to patient safety improvement.

Psychological Safety 

CUSP encourages—and relies on—frontline staff to speak up if they observe preventable harm. How do you create a safe environment for this feedback loop? In this section, we discuss the importance of psychological safety and strategies to foster open communication.

Sustainability

CUSP encourages—and relies on—on frontline staff to speak up if they observe preventable harm. How do you create a safe environment for this feedback loop to sustain behavior change? In this section, we discuss how to maintain the gains of your CUSP team into the future, when SSIs are low.

Review of SSI Prevention Program Tools

The conversations surrounding MRSA and SSI prevention often require open responses from a wide variety of surgical staff and perioperative personnel. To facilitate these conversations and elucidate gaps in practice and areas for improvement with infection prevention initiatives, many tools are available to use. This section reviews how to utilize various tools & CUSP resources provided in the toolkit.

Index of CUSP Tools & Resources: Use this link to access all CUSP tools and one-pagers in this toolkit on a single page.