Hospital infections are the eighth leading cause of death in the United States. Although there are a number of hospitals that are working to prevent infections, more bugs are cropping up that are resistant to antibiotics - making preventive methods difficult. In fact, some two million patient get a hospital acquired infection each year, and 90,000 of these patients die.

Some feel that the widespread use of antibiotics given to patients before surgery to check the spread of infections could be part of the problem. Research has shown that the liberal use of antibiotics has replaced all the attention that was once given to rigorous hygiene among medical workers. As a matter of fact, studies have shown that more than half the time, health care workers don't even wash their hands when around patients - a critical safeguard against infection that has been in practice for 160 years.

Working harder to prevent daunting statistics, more hospitals like the nonprofit Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Cambridge, MA have enlisted 3,000 hospitals to practice interventions that save lives. For example, when dealing with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which is a deadly infection that affects about 15 percent of patients who have a breathing tube -- hospital workers must wash their hands frequently and closely monitor incision sites and raise patient beds to at least 30 degrees to prevent stomach fluids from back up into the lungs. Because of these measures, more than 30 hospitals reported no VAPs for at least one year.
In most states, until recently, it was very hard to find out how well hospitals control infection. But many states are now passing laws that require hospitals to report information about infections to the public. This informs consumers and motivates doctors and nurses to work for more sanitary conditions and take greater pride in their work.

If you are a patient or soon may be one, there are things you can do to improve the quality and safety of health care like asking everyone who comes to visit you to wash their hands or use antibacterial hand wash. And, don't be afraid to tell medical personnel to do the same.

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