From the TIMES-TRIBUNE:
Health care-associated infections across the state dropped 12.5 percent from 2008 to 2009, reflecting a renewed focus among hospital officials and policymakers to identify causes of preventable infections and implement strategies to reduce them.
A report released today by Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council examined the number of health care-associated infections reported at facilities across the state in 2009. Overall, 1.2 percent of patients admitted to hospitals in Pennsylvania in 2009 contracted at least one infection during their stay.
Infections contracted while receiving care at a hospital or health system can be deadly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that of the 1.7 million patients who contract health care-associated infections each year across the country, about 99,000 of them die. Health care-associated infections are also expensive, costing U.S. hospitals between $28.4 to $33.8 billion, according to CDC information…
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