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Nearly 1 in 10 healthcare workers suffer from latex allergies— a risk shared by 7.2 % of susceptible patients and 4.3 % of the general population. 1 At Yale New Haven Health System( YNHHS), Connecticut’ s leading nonprofit healthcare system, this urgent reality drove a system-wide transition to external

catheters not made with natural rubber latex. Through strategic collaboration, they set a standard for product implementation.

When an adverse event at one of the YNHHS facilities led to an urgent conversion from latex to silicone products, it prompted a closer look at the entire health system. About a year and a half later, all

by Elisa Drake

hospitals in the Yale New Haven Health System were preparing to standardize an external catheter not made with natural rubber latex. This time, value analysis nurse Jodi Katz, MSHA, BS, RN, CNML, CVAHP, wanted to do it with thought and planning. With Medline’ s support, Yale New Haven Health collected frontline staff feedback and

provided comprehensive education to support the product transition. The collaboration marked a new standard for partnershipdriven change.

CHALLENGE Shifting to a versatile catheter not made with natural rubber latex The urology providers at