HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	93
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO ESTABLISH REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL FACILITIES Regarding hospital-acquired infections.

     WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every year healthcare-associated infections account for almost two million infections in American hospitals and ninety-nine thousand deaths; and

     WHEREAS, the cost of treating these hospital-acquired infections is estimated to add $27,500,000,000 to hospital expenses each year; and

WHEREAS, hospital-acquired infections include antibiotic resistant superbugs, such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (commonly known as MRSA), a deadly bacteria that is resistant to various antibiotics and may infect the heart or lungs after entering the body and may cause death; and

     WHEREAS, in 2005, of the infected patients, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that 94,360 patients developed serious MRSA infections and nearly nineteen thousand of them died; and

     WHEREAS, as of 2007, about eighty-five per cent of all invasive MRSA infections were associated with healthcare delivery; and

     WHEREAS, a 2007 medical study conducted by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology found that Hawaii healthcare facilities have the highest rate of MRSA colonization and infection in the nation, with a prevalence rate that is twice the national average; and

     WHEREAS, a 2009 Pennsylvania report provides evidence that public reporting of infection rates may be effective in reducing hospital-acquired infections, showing an eight per cent reduction in the overall state infection rate when comparing two years in which identical data was collected; and

     WHEREAS, as of 2008, approximately twenty-six states required the reporting of hospital-acquired infection rates; and

WHEREAS, public reporting of hospital-acquired infection rates in Hawaii may motivate hospitals to improve their infection-prevention practices and allow meaningful evaluation of their infection control programs; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to establish reporting requirements for hospitals, medical facilities, and certain medical professionals regarding hospital-acquired infections; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to report annually to the Legislature and the Governor regarding hospital-acquired infections and to post the report on its website; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Health; Hospital-Acquired Infections