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HAI's (Healthcare-Associated Infections)

If you’re going to be a patient in a hospital or any healthcare facility, learning about HAI’s and how to prevent them can make the difference between a smooth recovery and an extended, painful, and expensive hospital stay. In some cases it can make the difference between life and death.

This fact is not meant to alarm, but instead to inform and educate you. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one out of every twenty patients will pick up an infection in the hospital. The important thing is that there are things you can do to prepare ahead to reduce your risk.

The list of resources below provides information about infection rates, prevention; what you can do, and what your healthcare providers and local hospitals should be doing to prevent infections.

15 STEPS to reduce your risk of getting a hospital infection
(from The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths)

WHAT IS SEPSIS?

To Save Lives, More Sepsis Awareness Needed

Killer of 200,000 is hardly noticed (NY Times, Oct. 5, 2010)

Sepsis after Surgery More Common than Heart Attacks and Blood Clots

Science Daily, July 21, 2010

pin Infection Prevention Printouts

APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Prevention)

new pamphlets, posters, & powerpoints to download or print

FAQ - MRSA Infections

FAQ - Surgical Site Infections

Blood Stream Infections

FAQ - Clostridium Difficile

FAQ - Group B Strep Infection

FAQ - Urinary Tract Infections (UTI's)

FAQ - Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP)

Consumer's Union - Clostridium Difficile ("C.Diff") Infections Policy Brief

Consumers Union MRSA Screening Policy Brief

Handwashing Saves Lives!

Watch this video from the CDC

Yo Gabba Gabba teaches kids 'The Handwashing Song'

“We estimate that 1.7 million HAIs occurred in U.S. hospitals in 2002 and were associated with approximately 99,000 deaths”

Public Health Reports, March-April, 2007

“At a time when these deadly infections still present a risk to patients, infection prevention departments at healthcare facilities need to be growing, not shrinking. Unfortunately, a 2009 APIC survey showed that 41 percent of hospitals in the U.S. are cutting staff, resources and education for infection prevention in response to the economic downturn.”

The Association for Professionals In Infection Control Statement, February, 2010

"The mortality rate for patients with a hospital-acquired infection was 12.2%, while the mortality rate for patients without a hospital-acquired infection was 2.0%. The mean (average) length of stay for patients with a hospital- acquired infection was 19.7 days, while the mean (average) length of stay for patients without a hospital-acquired infection was 4.4 days.”

Hospital Acquired Infections in Pennsylvania, 2006-07 Report

Learn About NH Hospital Infection Rates Here

NH Hospital Infection Report posted August 17, 2010
Three types of infections are required to be reported by a law passed in 2006 (HB 1741): all surgical site infections, ventilator-associated pneumonias, and bloodstream infections.

NH Patient Voices Analysis of the NH Hospital Infection Report

Leapfrog
Check on NH hospital ICU infection rates. Four (out of 26) NH Hospitals participate in Leapfrog Group’s Patient Safety Survey. Click on ‘Compare Hospitals’, then click on ‘by state’. When you get to the rating page, click the small letter ‘ i ‘ in the bar graph box for the actual infection rate.

Consumers Union Stop Hospital Infections Campaign
Learn how NH hospitals are are doing in trying to prevent surgical site infections. This doesn’t tell infection rates (outcomes) but instead whether hospitals are taking a few of the recommended steps toward prevention.

CDC HAI State Funding Map
In 2009, NH Department of Health & Human Services was awarded $737,551 from The Centers for Disease Control for infection reporting and prevention . This map allows you to track how the money is supposed to be spent here in New Hampshire and in all states that were awarded grants.