From Invisible to Visible - Positive Deviance Initiative

teria. An ICU patient in one room had it, and then
a patient who occupied the same room just after
the first patient left got it. Ms. Reiland, who had
cleaned the first room, wondered if she could
have been responsible.” She eagerly pursued
information on cleaning and eradicating
pathogens, and now she is actively sought for her
expertise in cleaning and preparing isolation
rooms.
The network maps also show the value that personal
relationships bring to Billings Clinic’s
MRSA prevention initiative. For instance, Jennifer
Mellgren-Blackford from infection control previously
worked closely xxvii with individuals in the
Billings Clinic lab, who are now responsible for
the increased MRSA testing. Her colleague Nancy
Iversen emphasized: “Instead of complaining
about their burgeoning MRSA work load, our lab
colleagues when asked to jump, ask how high.”
Since May, 2008, when Ms. Holley prepared the
network maps, representatives of all units at
Billings have had several opportunities to study
them. When we visited Billings Clinic in early
June 2008, five large wall poster network maps
were prominently displayed, and coaches Keith
McCandless and Joelle Everett facilitated small
group discussions to interpret the maps. The purpose
of these conversations: to spur more within
unit connections and cross- collaboration on
MRSA prevention.
“What value do the social network maps hold for
Billings in its quest to eliminate MRSA?” we ask
Nancy Iversen.
She responds: “We hope to use them for forward
strategic planning: figure out who are not yet
involved, and how to get to them. For instance,
the network maps show relatively few physicians
as leaders in MRSA prevention work. We need to
Potential collaboration network
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