PRINTER'S NO. 422
No. 85 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY MARKOSEK, CALTAGIRONE, COHEN, DALEY, FRANKEL,
FREEMAN, GERGELY, JAMES, JOSEPHS, KULA, LEACH, LEVDANSKY,
MAHER, McGEEHAN, MELIO, MUNDY, RAMALEY, READSHAW, SANTONI,
SIPTROTH, SWANGER, WALKO, J. WHITE AND YOUNGBLOOD,
FEBRUARY 13, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES,
FEBRUARY 13, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging all hospitals and health care facilities in this
2 Commonwealth subject to the Health Care Cost Containment Act
3 to comply with hospital infection reporting requirements.
4 WHEREAS, The House of Representatives is proud that this
5 Commonwealth has taken the lead in the nation in issuing a
6 comprehensive study of the consequences of hospital-acquired
7 infections; and
8 WHEREAS, Reports from a variety of sources, including the
9 Institute of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and
10 Prevention, conclude that hospital-acquired infections kill as
11 many as 90,000 Americans each year; and
12 WHEREAS, According to a 2003 review in the New England
13 Journal of Medicine, from 1975 through 1995 the number of
14 hospital days nationally decreased by 36.5%, the average length
15 of hospital stay decreased by 32.9%, the number of inpatient
16 surgeries decreased by 27.3% and the incidence of hospital-
1 acquired infections per 1,000 patient-days increased by 36.1%;
2 and
3 WHEREAS, The relevant medical literature and a series of
4 demonstration projects, including several in this Commonwealth
5 that have attracted national attention, show most hospital-
6 acquired infections can be prevented; and
7 WHEREAS, Acknowledgment of the existence and frequency of
8 hospital-acquired infections is proven to be the essential first
9 step toward prevention; and
10 WHEREAS, On July 7, 2003, the General Assembly enacted new
11 and stronger requirements reauthorizing the Health Care Cost
12 Containment Council and requiring our State hospitals to report
13 such infections to the council; and
14 WHEREAS, According to information recently released by the
15 council, hospitals in this Commonwealth reported 19,154
16 hospital-acquired infections during 2005; and
17 WHEREAS, Among the 19,154 Pennsylvanians who acquired
18 infections in hospitals, 2,478 died while hospitalized; and
19 WHEREAS, Hospital admissions for the 19,154 hospital-acquired
20 infections reported by hospitals in this Commonwealth in 2005
21 were associated with an additional 194,129 hospital days; and
22 WHEREAS, The mortality rate for patients without a hospital-
23 acquired infection was 2.9% but jumped to 12.9% for patients
24 with a hospital-acquired infection; and
25 WHEREAS, In 2005, hospitals in this Commonwealth were paid an
26 average of $53,900 for a hospitalization in which the patient
27 had an infection, but received an average of only $8,000 for
28 hospitalizations in which the patient did not have an infection;
29 and
30 WHEREAS, The Commonwealth paid approximately on average
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1 $36,112 for patients with hospital-acquired infections in which
2 Medicaid was the primary payer, compared with $5,411 for
3 patients without hospital-acquired infections in which Medicaid
4 was the primary payer; and
5 WHEREAS, Hospital-acquired infections reported by just 22
6 institutions accounted for more than one-half of the nearly
7 19,154 reported infections in 2005; and
8 WHEREAS, Most hospitals reported hospital-acquired infection
9 rates lower than rates predicted by the Centers for Disease
10 Control and Prevention and other credible sources; and
11 WHEREAS, The Health Care Cost Containment Council will,
12 pursuant to law, request hospitals in this Commonwealth to
13 report hospital-acquired infections of all types; therefore be
14 it
15 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the Health
16 Care Cost Containment Council, individual hospitals and the
17 relevant industry groups to enhance their efforts and
18 collaboration in order to assure identification and reporting of
19 all hospital-acquired infections; and be it further
20 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives strongly
21 encourage all hospitals to comply with the reporting of
22 hospital-acquired infection data to the council; and be it
23 further
24 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
25 the Governor, the Secretary of Health, the council and the
26 Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania.
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