News: U.S. hospitals demonstrate an 85% decline in HAIs, Leapfrog Group says
The Leapfrog Group’s newest data shows that 85% of hospitals in the United States have reduced their healthcare acquired infection (HAI) rates since the previous review cycle.
The latest data trends are the result of reductions in three significant HAIs:
- Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus
- Central line-associated bloodstream infections
- Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
According to the Leapfrog Group press release, 19% of U.S. hospitals have improved in all three infection measures, 66% have improved at least one infection measure, and 16% have continued to worsen or made no improvement.
The new data is “noteworthy,” observed the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, because HAIs had reached a five-year high during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new data on HAIs was accompanied by Leapfrog’s yearly set of U.S. hospital safety grades: 30% of hospitals received an ‘A’ rating, 24% received a ‘B’ rating, 39% a ‘C’ rating, 7% a ‘D’ rating, and less than 1%, an ‘F.’
Editor’s note: To read the Leapfrog Group press release, click here. To read the CIDRAP coverage, click here.