Many Western New York Hospitals are seeing reductions in the number of hospital-acquired infections among patients, as reported in the state Department of Health's Hospital-Acquired Infections report, according to Buffalo Business First.
Here are six insights:
1. HAIs affect 4 percent of patients admitted to hospitals, causing extended hospital stays as well as increased costs and preventable deaths.
2. Since the state Department of Health began reporting its HAI report in 2007, more than 15,000 infections have been prevented.
3. In 2014, central-line associated infections accounted for 546 infections, down 57 percent since 2007.
4. C. difficile infections are down 32 percent since 2010, and enterobacteria infections have fallen 18 percent since 2013.
5. SSIs accounted for 863 infections in 2014, a 15 percent decrease from 2012.
6. Despite these improvements, four local hospitals were found to have significantly higher infection rates than the state average in 2014. The hospitals include Medina Memorial Hospital, Mercy Hospital, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and Sisters of Charity - St. Joseph Campus.
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