News and Articles

• NH: College and Keene Community Show Support for Infection Survivor

  Keene State field hockey player Erin Dallas developed a post-surgical infection following an ACL operation last December. Since that time, Dallas has been hospitalized and has had multiple operations.

• Touched by tragedy

  Kim Sandstrom, a patient safety activist in Florida, was invited to attend a White House forum with President Obama that was aired Wednesday night on ABC. Kim's 24-year-old daughter, Diana, died from a medical error in 2004.
  Source: Ocala.com (June 25, 2009)

• Many hospitals cut back on infection-control efforts

  Many hospitals cut back on infection-control efforts, which will hurt patients and cost hospitals money.
  Source: American Medical News (June 22, 2009)

• Infection concerns spur more checks of medical equipment

  Spot inspections at three Veterans Administration hospitals last month revealed that instruments used in colonoscopies and endoscopies were not properly disinfected, potentially exposing veterans to HIV and hepatitis.
  Source: The Greenville News (June 24, 2009)

• Torn Surgical Gloves Put Patients at Risk for Infection

  Giving antibiotics before operation might improve safety, study finds
  Source: Forbes, June 16, 2009

• MD: State links billing rates to hospital performances

  On July 1, the state's hospitals will receive financial incentives based on the steps taken to prevent complications, including collapsed lungs and infections of the urinary tract and in the blood.
  Source: HometownAnnapolis.com; June 16, 2009

• Hospital Infections High In Sweden At 10 Percent

  Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in hospitals impose significant economic consequences on the nation’s healthcare system.
  Source: EmaxHealth; June 15, 2009

• VA inspections show continued flaws

  The VA started a nationwide safety campaign at it's 153 medical centers calling attention to potential infection risks from improperly operating and sterilizing the equipment.
  Source: AP; June 15, 2009

• Editorial: Mandatory reporting makes hospitals safer

  Lori Nerbonne of New Hampshire Patient Voices writes in support of a bill for funding hospital infection rate reporting and an adverse event reporting bill, which will require hospitals to report serious, completely preventable errors to the state.
  Source: Concord Monitor, May 14, 2009

• MD hospital fined for not reporting errors

  The hospital failed to notify the Department of Health that a patient had died and that at least seven others suffered serious harm last year as a result of mistakes by the medical staff.
  Source: Washington Post, June 15, 2009

• Germs and flu are up; infection control is down

  Despite growing pressure to prevent deadly hospital-acquired infections, hospitals are cutting back on protecting patients against them.
  Source: MSNBC, June 9, 2009

• Health Outcomes Driving New Hospital Design

  Single-patient rooms are now viewed as an important element of high-quality health care.
  Source: New York Times, May 18, 2009

• U.S. Health Care System Fails to Protect Patients From Deadly Medical Errors

  Consumers Union Assesses Lack of Progress Ten Years After Institute of Medicine Found Up To 98,000 Die From Preventable Errors

• Report: about 98,000 Americans still die annually from medical errors

  The Consumers Union report said lawmakers largely have failed to enact patient safety reforms recommended by a 1999 report by the Institute of Medicine that found that medical errors cost the U.S. as much as 29 billion U.S. dollars a year.
  Source: China View, May 22, 2009

• What are these? Iowa Hospital Report Cards - Infection Control

  Links to hospital safety information in Iowa.
  Source: Iowa Public Television, March 26, 2009

• Preventable Medical Errors Still Kill Thousands, Cost Billions as Employers Foot Bill

  Despite a landmark report a decade ago detailing the deadly nature of the U.S. health care system, a consumer group finds that little has been done to prevent errors that cost the nation $17 billion to $29 billion and kill as many as 100,000 patients annually.
  Source: Workforce Management, May 20, 2009

• Deadly Medical Errors Still Plague U.S.

  Report Shows 10-Year Effort to Curb Medical Errors Yields Few Results

• U.S. group sees little progress on medical errors

  Despite a decade of promises, little has been done to fix the problem of preventable medical errors that kill nearly 98,000 people in the United States each year, a consumer group said on Tuesday.
  Source: Rueters, May 19, 2009

• Historic Initiatives for Consumer Information and Patient/Provider Partnerships Approved

  The Massachusetts Public Health Council approved regulations to implement major patient safety reforms passed last year, including public reporting of hospital infections and serious medical errors, no-pay policies for certain preventable medical errors, and requiring every hospital in the state to have a Patient and Family Advisory Council and a rapid response system that can be activated by patients and their families.

• Cincinatti story on Hospital Acquired Infections (Video)

  Local news coverage of hospital infection stories: Kacia Warren and Nancy Oliver from Ohio.
  Source: ABC WCPO (May 2009)

• CDC sits on documents

  Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have generated about 4,000 pages of documents assessing risks to the agency’s reputation posed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s reporting. But the CDC is not releasing those records to the public.
  Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (April 26, 2009)

• CO: Infection data spur changes at hospitals

  When Colorado passed a law requiring hospitals to publicly reveal their infection rates, lawmakers hoped it would push them to improve surgical hygiene. It seems that it's working. View report from the CO Department of Public Health and Environment.
  Source: The Denver Post, May 12, 2009

• Sebelius challenges hospitals to reduce infections

  HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the availability of $50 million in stimulus resources to fight healthcare-associated infections and improve patient safety, issuing a specific challenge to hospitals to take action to reduce HAIs.
  Source: Modern Health Care, May 6, 2009

• Government Reports Criticize Health Care System

  Two annual government reports released Wednesday show that progress in improving the quality of health care and narrowing health disparities among ethnic groups remains agonizingly slow, and that patient safety may actually be declining.
  Source: New York Times; May 6, 2009

• Some Oklahoma hospitals need work, study finds; Infection prevention rated

  Some Oklahoma hospitals aren’t doing enough to prevent surgery patients from developing infections, according to a report released by Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports magazine.

• Preventable hospital errors / No patient should pay

  Billing patients or their private insurance company for the cost of medical mistakes would change under a bill that's cleared the state Senate and is now before the Assembly. The bill would prevent hospitals from charging anyone for serious medical errors. The legislation would also require the state to make public individual hospitals' errors.
  Source: Press of Atlantic City; May 6, 2009

• Ventilators Biggest Risk Factor For Pneumonia After Heart Surgery, Study Finds

  According to a new European study, ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the main cause of nosocomial infection in patients undergoing major heart surgery.
  Source: ScienceDaily (May 6, 2009)

• Alabama Legislature approves bill to require reports on hospital-acquired infections

  If signed by the Governor, Alabama will become the 26th state to required hospitals publicly report infection rates.
  Source: Associated Press, April 30, 2009

• Studies show handwashing reduces disease

  Obama said that handwashing and covering your mouth when you cough can make a huge difference in reducing transmission of the flu. The scientific consensus on handwashing backs him up.
  Source: St. Petersburg Times (April 29, 2009)

• CA: Report: 14 Inland hospitals miss surgery infection control targets

  Almost half of all hospitals in Riverside and San Bernardino counties during a one-year period did not comply with some key medical practices to prevent surgical infections, according to a report by an organization that publishes a popular consumer magazine.
  Source: The Press Enterprise; April 30, 2009

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