California Hospitals Taking Steps To Reduce Rates of Health Care-Associated Infections

Late last year, the California Department of Public Health released its first-ever report on infection rates at hundreds of general acute-care hospitals across the state.

Officials acknowledge that the report had several shortcomings related to data collection and other issues. For the next report, the state plans to use a standardized CDC system that will allow for better hospital-to-hospital comparisons on infection rates.

In a California Healthline Special Report by Kelly Wilkinson, experts discussed steps that state officials and hospitals are taking to reduce rates of health care-associated infections.

The Special Report includes comments from:

Kim Delahanty, administrative director of infection prevention at the UC-San Diego Health System; Kevin Reilly, chief deputy director for policy and programs at the California Department of Public Health; and Debby Rogers, vice president of quality and emergency services at the California Hospital Association (Wilkinson, California Healthline, 2/9).

The complete transcript of this Special Report is available as a PDF.

<h1>California Hospitals Taking Steps To Reduce Rates of Health Care-Associated Infections</h1>
Late last year, the California Department of Public Health released its <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/02/haireportsb-1058bsi-final.pdf">first-ever report</a> on infection rates at hundreds of general acute-care hospitals across the state.
Officials acknowledge that the report had several shortcomings related to data collection and other issues. For the next report, the state plans to use a standardized CDC system that will allow for better hospital-to-hospital comparisons on infection rates.
In a California Healthline Special Report by Kelly Wilkinson, experts discussed steps that state officials and hospitals are taking to reduce rates of health care-associated infections.
The Special Report includes comments from:
Kim Delahanty, administrative director of infection prevention at the UC-San Diego Health System; 
Kevin Reilly, chief deputy director for policy and programs at the California Department of Public Health; and 
Debby Rogers, vice president of quality and emergency services at the California Hospital Association (Wilkinson, California Healthline, 2/9).
The complete transcript of this Special Report is <a href="https://www.kff.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2011/02/chlspecialreporttranscript2911.pdf">available as a PDF</a>.