Relevance to Practice
There is a lack of research information on the how
nursing care provided or missed at the bedside impacts
fiscal and time resources for care. This oversight directly
impacts patient well-being and quality of life. The U.S.
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has identified
some types of basic nursing related to pressure ulcers,
ventilator-associated pneumonia, catheter-associated urinary
tract infections, central line–associated bloodstream
infection, and others for non-reimbursement in hospitals
where these negative patient outcomes occur (CDC,
2013). We anticipate that closer monitoring and reimbursement
changes may also occur for NV-HAP in the
future. Nursing needs to lead the way in the design and
implementation of policies that allow for adequate time,
proper oral care supplies, ease of access to supplies, clear
procedures, and outcome monitoring to ensure that patients
are also protected from NV-HAP. The interprofessional
team that addressed NV-HAP created a vision statement
that summarized what was learned in this study,“We are preventing pneumonia and saving lives, one
clean mouth at a time.”