Erickson Announces Plan to Reduce Health Care-Associated Infections

Will be considered by Public Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday.

Harrisburg – Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Ted Erickson (R-26) announced today that he is introducing legislation aimed at reducing the incidence of health care‑associated infections, often referred to as hospital-acquired infections.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that health care-associated infections affect two million patients a year, with more than 100,000 dying from bacteria that are increasingly resistant to common antibiotics.  Senator Erickson’s legislation would establish the roles of state government and health care facilities in reducing the incidence of infections.

“This measure will continue the momentum of the activities currently underway in our health care facilities in Pennsylvania to reduce the incidence of infections and ensure that the necessary protocols are in place to further prevent health‑care associated infections,” said Erickson.

Unveiling of the legislation follows a June 6 public hearing of the Public Health and Welfare Committee, which featured testimony from health care providers and experts in the field. The bill will be considered by the committee at Wednesday’s meeting.

This legislation would do the following:

• Require that all health care facilities, including hospitals and nursing homes, develop and implement internal infection control plans to improve the health and safety of patients and health care workers.
• Expand the duties of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority by requiring health care facilities to report to the Authority health care‑associated infections as serious events or incidents.
• Charge the Patient Safety Authority with establishing uniform definitions for identifying and reporting infections based on nationally recognized standards, implementing uniform reporting requirements, and 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 performed in accordance with the facility’s infection control plan.
• Provide for incentive payments for health care facilities that achieve a reduction in health care‑associated infections based on benchmarks developed in consultation with the Patient Safety Authority.
• Establish a public awareness campaign in the state Health Department to inform the public 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.

The June 6 hearing discussed how health care facilities are reducing their rates of infections. Resistant staph infections dropped 90 percent at one hospital after it began testing incoming ICU patients and isolating carriers of resistant strains.

“Experts have concluded that controlling infections will save millions of dollars in health care costs, save lives, and improve the quality of life of Pennsylvanians who have been hospitalized,” said Erickson. “It’s a major challenge, but I believe this comprehensive approach establishes the framework to significantly reduce these infections.”