Addressing Hospital Acquired Infections in NYS: Improving Patient Safety

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a major public health problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were an estimated 1.7 million healthcare-associated infections and 99,000 deaths from those infections in 2002. 1 A recent CDC report estimated the annual medical costs of healthcare-associated infections to U.S. hospitals is between $28 and $45 billion, adjusted to 2007 dollars. 2 Ms. Stricof will discuss the development of the New York State HAI reporting system, describe HAI rates in NYS in the three years since mandated reporting began and describe activities underway in New York to support hospitals to reduce risk and enhance patient safety.