While hospitals in California have made strides in the reduction of certain hospital-associated infections since the California Department of Public Health began publishing annual HAI data in 2008, there is still room for improvement, according to a new study from the department covered by California Healthline.
According to the CDC, American hospitals experience approximately 1.7 million HAIs annually, which result in the death of 100,000 patients and produce billions in excess health costs. States across the country are working to rollback these numbers.
Here are five things to know about the fight against HAI rates in California.
1. California's rate for central line-associated bloodstream infections has dropped 39 percent below the national baseline established by the CDC since 2008.
2. Since 2011, rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections have dipped 10 percent below the national baseline.
3. The occurrence of surgical site infections has decreased below the national baseline by 34 percent since 2008.
4. Despite these improvements, hospitals in the state have struggled to reduce the rates of Clostridium difficile, with rates of this infection rising 8 percent above the baseline since 2011.
5. For 2015, nearly 400 acute care hospitals across California reported 19,847 HAIs to the state's public health department, demonstrating a continued risk to patients throughout the state. In 2014, California hospitals reported 19,200 such infections.
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