Facts & Figures
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 5 percent of all hospital admissions result in a healthcare-associated infection, culminating in approximately 722,000 infections and 75,000 deaths each year as well as $28–33 billion in excess costs. A recent publication estimated that HAIs in North Carolina cost $124-$348 million each year in direct expenditures.
North Carolina's current surveillance and prevention efforts focus on central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) , catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) , abdominal hysterectomy and colon surgical site infections (SSIs), laboratory-identified Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia, and laboratory-identified Clostridium difficile (C. diff). The first hospital-specific estimates of select HAI infections in short-term acute care hospitals were published in January 2013.
HAIs are reported to DPH via the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) in accordance with the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) inpatient prospective payment system rules. The current CMS-IPPS rules are available on the CMS-IPPS website at www.cms.gov/Center/Provider-Type/Hospital-Center.html (Scroll down to the "Payment" section under "Important Links").
HAI Annual Reports: These year-end summaries from the N.C. Surveillance for Healthcare-Associated and Resistant Pathogens Patient Safety (SHARPPS) Program provide state-level and hospital-specific data from North Carolina short-term acute care hospitals. These reports provide data on central line associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI), surgical site infections (SSI), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus laboratory-identified events (MRSA LabID), and laboratory-identified clostridium difficile (CDI LabID). Also included is an overview of program activities and accomplishments.
The 2022 annual summary from the NC SHARPPS Program is now available!
HAI Quarterly Reports: These reports, issued quarterly from the N.C. Surveillance for Healthcare-Associated and Resistant Pathogens Patient Safety (SHARPPS) Program provide facility-specific data from North Carolina short-term acute care hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, specialty hospitals and inpatient rehabilitation facilities. These reports include data on CLABSI, CAUTI, SSI, MRSA, and Clostridium difficile (C. diff).
HAI Reference Document - This document is provided to facilitate understanding of the statistical measures and to promote accurate interpretation of published results.
For national HAI data, visit the CDC web site: National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) Reports & Data