While working as a speech-language pathologist at the New Mexico Veterans Affairs Health Care System, I spearheaded an evidence-based quality improvement initiative to educate nurses and first-line care providers on the importance of oral care in preventing aspiration pneumonia, a common hospital-acquired infection. To implement the project, I sought and obtained support from interdepartmental chiefs and upper-level hospital administration. This project ultimately yielded a decrease in hospital acquired pneumonias and decreased length of hospital stay, yielding institutional cost savings and improved health outcomes for patients.