Cost losses associated with the "PICC, stick, and run team" concept.

Covenant Healthcare System is a 500-bed facility in Saginaw, Michigan. A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) program was instituted there in 1990 when it was St. Lukes Hospital. Over the course of 17 years, 30 nurses had been trained to place PICCs in their spare time. A "PICC, stick, and run team" was established in 1998 but was unsuccessful. After a merger with Saginaw General Hospital, Covenant Healthcare created two full-time vascular access specialty positions. This nursing-based PICC program with full-time staffing has revitalized vascular access at Covenant Healthcare System. Currently, PICCs are placed proactively at the beginning of hospital stays. Peripheral catheter restarts have been replaced with reliable PICC access sites. Delayed discharge for PICC insertion is no longer an issue.