Hospital Acquired Infections Legislation

...By State Rep. Howie Lund, Derry

There were a number of pieces of legislation filed this fall dealing with the issue of hospital-acquired infections. It was felt that the public should be able to access information by hospital. This will help the citizens of the state make more informed decisions as to where to send loved ones when important medical procedures are needed. It was decided by the legislators involved to consolidate their efforts into one piece of legislation that they would all get behind and support. The six legislators involved are Rep. Leo Pepino (Manchester), Rep Howie Lund (Derry), Rep Dave Hess (Hooksett), Rep Rogers Johnson (Stratham), Rep James Powers (Portsmouth) and Rep Robert Giuda (Warren) .

Latest estimates show that 90,000 patients a year die from hospital acquired infections. That is more than die per year from auto accidents and breast cancer combined. It is more than died in the Vietnam War (58,000), which lasted for nearly ten years. Were we to look at the length of the Vietnam War and put the same number of years on hospital acquired infection deaths, we would be looking at nearly million (1,000,000) deaths. This legislation is not intended to diminish the positive contributions made by the hospitals of our state but rather to bring the issue into the light of day, which should accomplish two things. First is to provide the public with information to make informed decisions on the most important issues in their lives. Second, to bring about improvement in hospital procedures that will reduce the loss of life and the unnecessary suffering related to hospital acquired infections.

The human costs are foremost but there is another important issue and that is financial. Just imagine what the costs are associated with repeated admittance to the hospital for hospital-acquired infection. Our insurance rates increase, our state Health and Human Services bill escalates (Medicare). Presently 29% of our state budget is spent on HHS. In states, such as Penn., that have implemented this type of legislation they are already experiencing a reduction in hospital-acquired infection. We expect to experience the same type of positive results with our legislation hear in New Hampshire.