Hospitals are gaining ground in reducing healthcare-associated infections after unprecedented highs during the COVID-19 pandemic, data from The Leapfrog Group's spring safety grades show.
The organization published its spring safety grades May 1; they showed 92% of hospitals have improved their performance on at least one of three HAIs since the height of the pandemic.
The spring data, which covers a period from July 2022 through June 2023, shows central line-associated bloodstream infections have fallen 34% since Leapfrog's fall 2022 safety grades. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus also both decreased by 30%.
"The best way to lower infection rates is an uncompromising will to succeed," Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group, told Becker's. "There is no substitute for a culture where everyone from the CEO to the dietary technician and surgeon live every day to improve patient lives. That may sound simplistic, but it is extremely difficult to accomplish."
Last year's spring safety grades, which were based on data from late 2021 and into 2022, revealed a significant spike in infection rates, with CLABSIs, CAUTIs and MRSA each reaching five-year highs. In fall 2023, trends started to improve, with the latest data offering further evidence of sustained progress.