Hospital-associated infections continue to be a serious public health concern. A new study released by the CDC this week reveals that 4 percent of patients develop a new infection while hospitalized, 11 percent of which turn deadly.
Here at DHEC Public Health, we provide data surveillance and reports on healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) to help health care organizations identify problems and track trends. Our healthcare-associated infections epidemiologist Kate Habicht does a great job overseeing this data collection and reporting to the 78 hospitals in South Carolina that are required to report this information under the Hospital Infections Disclosure Act (HIDA). Kate also provides support to the S.C. Hospital Association, which is the organization in our state that leads healthcare-associated infection prevention initiatives.
Each year, DHEC produces two reports on facility-specific HAIs that are distributed to hospitals and legislators, and is available to the general public on our website. These reports provide consumers and public health officials with a way to measure and compare South Carolina’s progress in preventing HAIs. They also help to promote better infection control practices across the state.
Special thanks to Kate for her hard work in monitoring and reporting HAIs. Her work is helping South Carolina health care providers identify ways to prevent these infections in the future.
Live Healthy S.C. 
I must admit, that I checked the local hospitals’ SSI rates before making my decision on which hospital to have my total knee replacement in 2012. It was very helpful!! 🙂