Nine hospitals in the U.S. reported no Clostridium difficile infections and no methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections between October 2013 and September 2014.
Consumer Reports added C. diff and MRSA infection rates to its hospital ratings criteria this year, using data that hospitals report to the CDC. The magazine found that of the more than 3,000 hospitals examined, just nine reported zero C. diff and zero MRSA infections during the time period.
Those hospitals are listed below, in alphabetical order:
- Adcare Hospital of Worcester (Mass.)
- Barnes-Jewish St. Peters (Mo.) Hospital
- Bergen Regional Medical Center (Paramus, N.J.)
- College Hospital Costa Mesa (Calif.)
- Delta Medical Center (Memphis, Tenn.)
- Jupiter (Fla.) Medical Center
- Shands Lake Shore Regional Medical Center (Lake City, Fla.)
- Tri-City Regional Medical Center (Hawaiian Gardens, Calif.)
- University Health Conway (Monroe, La.)
While these hospitals did not report any C. diff or MRSA infections, it does not mean that none occurred, as there is really no standardized way to audit the reported data for accuracy.
"There is reason to be skeptical about the accuracy of infection data," Lisa McGiffert, director of the Consumer Reports Safe Patient Project, told the magazine.