Highly preventable central-line infections were cut in half between 2008 and 2014, according to the CDC.
The success has been described as one of the nation's greatest achievements in patient safety by Arjun Srinivasan, MD, associate director for Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs at the CDC. However, while many of the nation's hospitals have had great success at reducing these infections, others have struggled.
A Consumer Reports investigation identified 31 prominent teaching hospitals with high rates of central-line infections when compared to peer organizations. For the investigation, Consumer Reports analyzed publicly available data on central-line infections from 2011 to 2015 on nearly 2,000 hospitals.
"Because teaching hospitals are teaching our next generation of physicians, we think it's critical to monitor them closely. Our review of their performance on controlling central-line infections is very sobering," said Doris Peter, PhD, director of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center. "Central-line infections are highly preventable and there are no excuses for poor performance on this metric. It's unfortunate to see so many well-known hospitals, some who tout their top rankings and awards, sitting on the sidelines of one of the biggest triumphs in patient safety."
Every year approximately 650,000 patients develop infections associated with central-lines, which supply medication, nutrients and fluids to patients who need them. These infections result in the deaths of 75,000 people.
Here are the 31 lowest-scoring teaching hospitals for central-line infection prevention, presented alphabetically.
Atlanta Medical Center (Atlanta)
Banner- University Medical Center Tucson (Ariz.)
Brooklyn Hospital Center (New York City)
Community Regional Medical Center (Fresno, Calif.)
Cooper University Health Care (Camden, N.J.)
Dartmouth – Hitchcock Medical Center (Lebanon, N.H.)
Emory University Hospital Midtown (Atlanta)
Eskenazi Health (Indianapolis, Ind.)
George Washington University Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
Grady Memorial Hospital (Atlanta)
Holy Cross Hospital (Silver Spring, Md.)
Howard University Hospital (Washington, D.C.)
Hurley Medical Center (Flint, Mich.)
Indiana University Health University Hospital (Indianapolis)
Interim LSU Public Hospital (New Orleans)
Long Beach Memorial Medical Center (Long Beach, Calif.)
MacNeal Hospital (Berwyn, Ill.)
Maine Medical Center (Portland, Maine)
Maricopa Integrated Health System (Phoenix)
Nebraska Medicine - Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha, Neb.)
Palmetto Health Richland (Columbia, S.C.)
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (New Brunswick, N.J.)
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center (Los Angeles)
SUNY Downstate Medical Center University Hospital (New York)
Truman Medical Center - Hospital Hill (Kansas City, Mo.)
Tulane Medical Center (New Orleans)
UC San Diego Health (San Diego)
UF Health Jacksonville (Jacksonville, Fla.)
University Hospital (Newark, N.J.)
University Medical Center of El Paso (El Paso, Texas)
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Iowa City, Iowa)
For a detailed look at Consumer Reports' scoring for the top-performing and worst-performing teaching hospitals for central-line infection rates based on historical averages, click here. These rating do not take into account 2016 data from the hospitals, which has not yet been made publicly available.
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