The Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) Program is one of three programs in the Center for Health Care Quality of the California Department of Public Health. The Program is responsible for the surveillance, reporting, and prevention of infections in California's general acute care hospitals as mandated by Senate Bills 739, 1058, and 158. The Program was authorized in December 2009.
HAIs are the most common complication of hospital care and are listed among the top ten leading causes of death in the United States. It is estimated that each year there are more than 1.7 million infections, 99,000 deaths, and $3.1 billion dollars in excess healthcare costs in acute care hospitals alone. Based on this data it is estimated that approximately 200,000 infections occur in California each year with an annual cost of about $600 million - $1.6 billion. The vision of the HAI Program is to eliminate HAIs for California patients.