The number of dangerous infections acquired at hospitals in New Hampshire is falling. A new report shows that there were 110 acquired infections in 2011. That’s a 20% decrease from 2009 levels.
State law mandates that hospitals report infections following certain procedures, including heart, colon and knee surgeries.
Beth Daly, Chief of Infectious Disease Surveillance at the state Health Department, says these are important numbers to track.
“The data we are reporting is just a small subset of the types of infections that can happen in a health care facility, but they are still important to monitor because patients can use these data to decide where to seek treatment, as well as to have these types of important conversations with their health care providers.”
Nationally, hospital acquired infections lead to 99,000 deaths each year and have a price tag of $33 billion.
