Reducing missed oral care opportunities to prevent non-ventilator associated hospital acquired pneumonia at the Department of Veterans Affairs

Conclusions: While oral care may seem deceptively simple in terms of base care provision, hospital and nursing services struggle to provide effective oral care delivery with high-reliability. Barriers to oral care include: (1) the perception that oral care is an optional daily care activity for patient's comfort, (2) hospitals supply inadequate, poorly designed oral care materials, and (3) hospitals are not required to monitor the incidence of NV-HAP. The impact of consistently delivered oral care is substantial in terms of Veteran health, quality of life, and well-being in addition to considerable cost avoidance.