Published October 09, 2025
There’s already a sign up in L+M Hospital’s Unit 4.1 celebrating more than 1,000 days without a catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI), and now there’s a new one, recognizing more than 1,000 days without a central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI).
“We’re extremely proud of the entire 4.1 team,” said Shannon Christian, RN, chief nursing officer for L+M and Westerly hospitals. “This latest accomplishment adds to the growing number of 1,000-Day Club honors achieved across both our hospitals, and it’s the latest reminder of how hard our caregivers work to protect our patients from harm.”
Unit 4.1’s second entry into the 1,000 Day Club is part of a Yale New Haven Health recognition program aimed at reducing all hospital-acquired infections.
“The credit goes to the team,” said Ashly Thatcher, RN, 4.1 nurse manager. “Day after day, we work on this and everyone is involved, speaking up, talking to the doctors and our infection preventionists – doing everything to prevent these infections.”
The YNHHS Infection Prevention team developed protocols for central line use that include questioning whether a line is necessary; removing lines as soon as possible; and practicing intensive cleaning and caring for lines when in use.
“Unit 4.1 has really done a commendable job, looking at every patient, every line, every day,” said Erica Plummer, RN, infection preventionist for L+M and Westerly hospitals. “We applaud the nurses who are up front advocating for their patients, and that often means going to the patient’s provider and requesting that a line be removed. There are many aspects to infection prevention, and it truly is a milestone to go more than 1,000 days without a single CLABSI.”
