Committee Approves Erickson Plan to Reduce Health Care-Associated Infections

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 13, 2007
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Committee Approves Erickson Plan to Reduce Health Care-Associated Infections

Harrisburg – Legislation sponsored by Senator Edwin B. Erickson (R-26) to address the issue of health care‑associated infections in the Commonwealth was approved by the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee today.

The committee, chaired by Erickson, approved Senate Bill 968, which would establish the roles of state government and health care facilities in reducing the incidence of infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that infections acquired in health care facilities affect two million patients a year in the United States, with more than 100,000 dying from bacteria that are increasingly resistant to common antibiotics.

"Infections are not a necessary byproduct of healthcare. And, the provisions contained in Senate Bill 968 will ensure that our hospitals and nursing homes use proven tools and protocols to reduce infections in Pennsylvania, improve quality of care, improve safety for both patients and health care workers, and reduce health care costs," said Erickson.

"This issue is not new. We addressed medical errors when the General Assembly created the Patient Safety Authority in 2002. Now, we are taking the next step and implementing a process to address health care‑acquired infections," said Erickson.

Erickson pointed out that the legislation will not force facilities to "reinvent the wheel" or scrap the initiatives that they have taken to date, nor will it create a cumbersome bureaucracy which will impede progress in addressing the issue of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs).

"Some hospitals have already made large financial commitments to control and reduce infections and have invested in electronic surveillance systems. This legislation will incorporate the actions taken to‑date and build upon these actions so that all of our hospitals and nursing homes implement 'best practices' to control infections."

This legislation would do the following:

Require hospitals and nursing homes to develop and implement system‑wide internal infection control plans to improve the health and safety of patients and health care workers.
Require hospitals and nursing homes to report health care‑associated infections as serious events or incidents to the Patient Safety Authority.
Charge the Patient Safety Authority with establishing uniform definitions for identifying and reporting infections based on nationally recognized standards, with implementing uniform reporting requirements, and with developing a methodology using nationally recognized standards for determining the incidence of health‑care associated infections in Pennsylvania and in comparison to national incidence rates.
Require that insurers and the Medical Assistance Program reimburse for the cost of routine cultures and screenings.
Provide incentive payments to facilities that reduce health care‑associated infections based on benchmarks developed in consultation with the Patient Safety Authority.
Establish the Community Awareness Program in the Health Department to educate Pennsylvanians on prevention and treatment of health care‑associated infections, causes and symptoms, and proper use of antibiotics.
Direct the Department of Health to determine the feasibility of establishing population‑specific active surveillance programs, such as for correctional facilities.

Unveiling of the legislation follows a committee hearing earlier this month featuring testimony from health care providers and nationally recognized experts in the field.

"Based on experience in our Pennsylvania hospitals and nationwide, I am confident that the process included in this legislation to reduce HAIs will address the issue. For example, at our hearing, we learned that resistant staph infections dropped 90 percent at one hospital after it began testing incoming ICU patients and isolating carriers of resistant strains," said Erickson. "It may be impossible to completely eliminate such infections, but Senate Bill 968 will build on the momentum that currently exists, and ensure that hospital patients and nursing home residents in our Commonwealth do not experience the negative effects of a health care‑associated infection."

CONTACT:
Michele Hansarick
(717) 787-1350

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