Healthcare-Associated infections are a major (often preventable) threat to patient safety. Last week the National and State Healthcare Associated Infections Progress Report expanded on previous reports– detailing progress toward the eliminating healthcare-associated infections.  The HAI Progress Report found significant reductions for nearly all infections- including in AZ. Central line-associated bloodstream infections and surgical site infections continued to approach the 5-year goals set in the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections.

Arizona’s public health system takes a layered approach to preventing HAI’s in our state.  It starts with our Licensing team- who regulates the healthcare institutions where the care happens.  Our Medical Facilities Licensing team and our HAI Program collaborate to ensure the safety of patients in Arizona by jointly providing technical assistance and guidance to licensed healthcare facilities in response to identified infection control breaches.  The next layer is our network of public health disease detectives.  Our Healthcare-Associated Infections Program and the counties conduct epidemiologic investigations when we get reports of unsafe injection practices affecting multiple patients.

Our HAI Program and Advisory Committee also generate guidance documents for healthcare facilities and provide best practices for infection control and injection safety like materials produced through the CDC’s One and Only Campaign and Arizona’s Stakeholder-driven No Place Like Home initiative- which partners with the national Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs project.