A 2005 report from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) noted that HAI alone afflicts nearly 2 million patients and kills approximately 90,000 people annually. This is more than diabetes or influenza/pneumonia. In addition, because the average hospital stay for HAI patients is extended between 7.4 and 9.4 days, approximately $40,000 is added to the cost of these patients, and the overall cost is estimated to be between $4.5 billion and $7.4 billion per year. For more on this topic, click here.
From The Lexington Herald-Leader, August 30, 2010:
Have you have tried telling a story about your latest frustration as an airline customer? Lost luggage. A long delay on the ground. A meal that consisted of five peanuts The indignity of a search.
No matter the topic, after you finish be prepared to get a horror story back from your listener. Everybody has had a bad day at the airport.
The same thing happens if you tell a story about getting an infection at the hospital. We all know someone who went in for a minor procedure expected to require a day or two in the hospital and instead required a week or longer because of a "hospital acquired infection" or HAI.
The difference is that while a lost-luggage story is about inconvenience, the other is about a life-threatening event.
What's more, HAIs are common enough in all health-care settings, not just hospitals, to warrant a name change. They are now recognized by the Centers for Disease Control as "health care associated infections." The name change may seem innocuous, or perhaps a bit defensive on the part of hospitals sensitive to public relations. But on a deeper level, it's disturbing that rather than defeat the infection threat, we've renamed it to capture its expanding footprint.
To read more, go to http://www.kentucky.com/2010/08/30/1412625/urge-hospitals-to-reduce-infection.html?storylink=addthis