Abstract
In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, n.d.) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) announced new requirements, enforced with fiscal penalties, for hospitals to address hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). [...]nurse leaders across the United States supported design of new protocols and procedures to reduce central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), surgical site infection (SSI), and more. Recognizing the impact of NVHAP on patient safety and the lack of requirements for hospitals to monitor or report NVHAP, a group of U.S. healthcare leaders sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs formed the nurse-led National Organization to Prevent Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia (NOHAP) in 2020. The survey also included questions related to known NVHAP prevention practices on policy, training, monitoring and documentation, family involvement, supply availability, and specific oral care practices related to the COVID19 pandemic. Because recent research demonstrated some promise in the use of antiseptic mouth rinses in eradicating SARS-CoV-2 virus, two questions were included related to use of mouth rinses (Casale et al., 2020; Pelletier et al., 2021).