The 5 Million Lives Campaign aims to build on the work and successes of the thousands of hospitals across the country that participated in the 100,000 Lives Campaign. The 5 Million Lives Campaign promotes adoption of 12 improvements in care that can save lives and reduce patient injuries. These changes include:

Six interventions targeted at preventing harm:

• Prevent Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection
• Reduce harm from high-alert medications
• Reduce surgical complications
• Prevent pressure ulcers
• Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for congestive heart failure
• Get Boards on board

Six interventions that continue from the 100,000 Lives Campaign:

• Deploy Rapid Response Teams
• Deliver reliable, evidence-based care for acute myocardial infarction
• Prevent adverse drug events
• Prevent central line infections
• Prevent surgical site infections
• Prevent ventilator-associated pneumonia

The 5 Million Lives campaign aims to enlist 4,000 hospitals and challenges all of them to adopt up to 12 of these interventions during the 24 months of the campaign (December 12, 2006 to December 9, 2008). The campaign represents a continuation of the largest improvement effort undertaken in recent history by the health care industry.

Wisconsin Node
Seven Wisconsin health care organizations came together to form the “Wisconsin Node” during the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) 100,000 Lives Campaign and are continuing in that role for the new 5 Million Lives Campaign. Two new organizations have joined the node in light of the new interventions. The node, facilitated by MetaStar, will continue to disseminate improvement tools and will provide support to health care providers throughout Wisconsin as they seek to improve care and protect lives from harm through their work in the 5 Million Lives Campaign.

Joining MetaStar in the node are the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative, Wisconsin Association for Health Care Executives, Wisconsin Hospital Association, Wisconsin Medical Society, Wisconsin Nurses Association, and Wisconsin Organization of Nurse Executives.

Wisconsin node members have joined together to do their part in achieving this goal by connecting with the hospitals that have signed on to the campaign to provide support for their improvement efforts. The node also will encourage other hospitals to join the campaign and to participate in improvement efforts associated with the campaign. Opportunities for hospitals to connect and share with one another will be provided through node-sponsored conference calls and other activities. Technical assistance on quality improvement activities and date reporting will be provided by the node members.

The node acts as a communication point between the hospitals in the campaign and the national campaign, responds to emerging issues during the course of the campaign, and supports hospitals in tracking campaign progress.

More Information
IHI's 5 Million Lives Campaign