Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Health Care-Associated Infections
Summary Indicator Report Data View Options
Why Is This Important?
Healthcare-associated infections are among the top causes of unnecessary illnesses and deaths in the United States.[https://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/health-care-professionals/healthcare-associated-infections/ ^1^]
Definition
Infections that are acquired in a health care setting, as measured by a standardized infection ratio (SIR) A standardized infection ratio (SIR) lower than 1.0 means the actual number is lower than expected.[[br]] A standardized infection ratio (SIR) higher than 1.0 means the actual number is greater than expected. All objectives and data are for hospitals only. Ambulatory surgery centers are not included.
Data Source
Healthcare-Associated Infections, National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/index.html)
How the Measure is Calculated
| Numerator: | Total number of "observed" or actual infections |
| Denominator: | Total number of "expected" infections (derived from the national baseline) |
How Are We Doing?
The Healthy New Jersey 2020 targets for CAUTI and colon and abdominal hysterectomy surgical site infections were all achieved. However, the CLABSI and CABG and knee arthroplasty surgical site infection targets were not met.
What Is Being Done?
Reducing preventable HAIs is a priority for the Department of Health and under state law, New Jersey hospitals are required to submit data on healthcare-associated infections to the Department. The Department is required to review and analyze the data, and report the results in New Jersey's annual Hospital Performance Report.[https://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/health-care-professionals/submit-reporting/hais/index.shtml ^2^]
Available Services
Health care quality information for patients and their families: [https://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/patients-families/]
More Resources
NJDOH Hospital Quality Reports: [https://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/health-care-professionals/hospital-performance-report/index.shtml] CDC's National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN): [http://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/dataStat.html]
Footnote References
1. NJDOH, [https://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/health-care-professionals/healthcare-associated-infections/ Healthcare-Associated Infections] 2. NJDOH, [https://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/health-care-professionals/submit-reporting/hais/index.shtml Report Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs)]