A nursing quality program driven by evidence-based practice.

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston established a best-practice council as a strategy to link nursing quality to evidence-based practice. Replacing a system based on reporting quality control and compliance, this Best Practice Council formed interdisciplinary teams, charged them each with a quality issue, and directed them to change practice as needed under the guidance of the St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital Evidence Based Practice Model. This article reviews the activities of the Best Practice Council and the projects of teams assigned to study best practice in (1) preventing bloodstream infection (related to central lines), (2) preventing patient falls, (3) assessing and preventing pressure ulcers, and (4) ensuring good hand-off communication.