CUSP for VAP: EVAP is a multihospital quality improvement project aimed at reducing the rate of  ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) through the use of  the Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP), the Translating Research Into Practice (TRiP) model, and our newly developed VAP Prevention Bundle - 2012. Individual hospitals in Maryland and Pennsylvania can sign up to participate in a three-year project that includes a two-year intervention period and one-year evaluation of sustainability. 

If you would like to join this project, please contact your state hospital association for Maryland (Karol Wicker, kwicker@mhaonline.org) or Pennsylvania (Mary Catanzaro, mcatanzaro@haponline.org). 

Below are several resources you can use to learn more about this project and how to get involved.

On Boarding Calls that introduce the project and key concepts to participants.

• The CUSP Program, September 11, 2011   audio   slides
• Science of Safety, September 4, 2012   audio   slides
• Building Your CUSP Team, August 28, 2012   audio   slides
• CUSP for VAP: EVAP Project Overview, August 20, 2012   audio   slides

Infection Prevention Open Forums featuring follow-up discussion with content experts and coaches

• Open Forum #3: September 6, 2012   audio
• Open Forum #2, Guest: Dr. Shelley MacGill, August 30, 2012   audio
• Open Forum #1: NHSN VAE Surveillance Definition Review, August 23, 2012   audio   slides

Special Topics

• Early Mobility, August 30, 2012   audio   slides

 Informational Webinars for potential participants.,

• Overview of VAP Prevention Program, August 2012   audio   slides
• VAE Surveillance Definition & Electronic Capture, July 2012   audio   slides

We also encourage you to take a look at our VAP Estimator, a tool that can help you to quantify the potential impact of VAP interventions by calculating the number of infections, deaths, dollars and ICU days that may be prevented if the VAP rate could be reduced.