Making Healthcare Safer for All Californians
Healthcare-Associated Infections in California Hospitals Annual Report, 2018
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) publishes healthcare-associated infections (HAI) data annually to provide vital information about the quality of hospital care and monitor prevention progress (Health and Safety Code section 1288.55). This report presents California hospital HAI data for calendar year 2018.
In 2018, hospitals reported 2,428 fewer HAI than in the previous year (2017). Statewide incidence for all reportable infection types continues to be lower (better) than 2015 national baselines (Figure). For the second straight year, the largest reductions in HAI incidence were reported in C. difficile infections (CDI), a type of life-threatening diarrheal infection that occurs when a patient inadvertently ingests the organism and is treated with certain antibiotics. Since 2015, California hospitals reduced overall CDI incidence by 41%, exceeding the 2020 CDI reduction goal.
Although California HAI incidence continues to improve each year, HAI incidence is not decreasing for all infection types in all hospitals. Long-term acute care (LTAC) hospitals, which provide complex care to patients that typically require prolonged hospital stays, continue to show little progress in HAI prevention and are unlikely to meet 2020 HAI reduction goals for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections, central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) or CDI. California LTAC hospitals need to greatly accelerate their HAI prevention efforts to improve patient safety.
In response to this report, CDPH is engaged in 10 HAI prevention projects across the State, in collaboration with local health departments and other stakeholders. For more details, including the action CDPH is taking to assist hospitals with high HAI rates, please read the full report.
Annual HAI Report
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