Zero Hospital Acquired Infections at SMH

August 5, 2014

Schoolcraft Memorial Hospital is proud to report a 0% Hospital Acquired Infection (HAI) rate for the entire first half of 2014. According to the CDC, HAIs are infections that patients develop during the course of receiving healthcare treatment for other conditions. They can be caused by a wide variety of common and unusual bacteria, fungi and viruses. In the United States approximately 5-10% of patients acquire an infection while treated in a hospital and about 30% of the infections are totally preventable by proper control measures.

SMH has always been far below the national average for hospital related infections which is a direct result of the hard work by all staff members involved with the care of patients. SMH initiated a multi-disciplinary team whose purpose is to reduce the occurrence of all types of infections that may be acquired during a hospital stay while continuously working to investigate and initiate different measures and steps to take to try and reduce the rates to the lowest possible. Patients can also help prevent infections by maintaining proper hygiene and cleanliness, following cough and sneeze etiquette, and using proper aseptic or clean techniques on surgical wounds.