Hospital Infection Data

Hospital acquired conditions is one of the leading causes of extended hospital stays, additional complications, and added medical costs. In the worst case, a hospital acquired condition can also lead to death. Southwest Health System has a very advanced surveillance program in place to both prevent and identify these conditions. Below is our most current data.


Southwest Health System particpates in several State and National programs. Through the use of many advanced and rigorous assessment tools, we're able to better identify and report conditions that are typically missed by other hospitals. The two most important programs of note are the Center for Disease Control’s National Health Safety Network and the American College of Surgeon's National Surgical Quality Improvement Program.


It should be noted that while we attempt to have zero infections, research indicates that this may not be completely possible. Much of the activities related to preventing such infections are based on the compliance of patients in following their physicians instructions, especially in the case of any post-surgical care.


Lastly, Southwest Health System started a new, advance hand washing system in May 2012 that uses advanced technology to physically measure the contaminates on an individual's hands. During the implementation of this new system, there were no monthly measurements being performed. This is why the blocks for January through April are blacked out. This new testing has improved overall compliance with approved hand washing techniques.

Days Since Our Last ....


Event Days Since
Surgical Site Infection 30
Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infection 29
Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infection 2,095
Ventilator Associated Pneumonia 2,095
Hospital Acquired Pneumonia 41
Hospital Acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 34
Hospital Acquired Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) 851
Other Hospital Acquired Infection 417
(as of April 30, 2013)

Detailed Data


Metric 2013
Goal Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TOTAL
Hand Washing Compliance 95% 80% 100% 77% 88%                 86%
Surgical Site Infections 0 0 0 4 1                 5
Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections 0 1 0 2 0                 3
Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections 0 0 0 0 0                 0
Ventilator Associated Pneumonia 0 0 0 0 0                 0
Hospital Acquired Pneumonia 0 0 0 1 0                 1
Hospital Acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 0 0 0 1 0                 1
Hospital Acquired Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) 0 0 0 0 0                 0
MRSA Identifications Made (non-hospital acquired, existed prior to treatment) 0 13 10 6 8                 37
Clostridium Difficile Colitis (C diff) Identifications Made (non-hospital acquired, existed prior to treatment) 0 3 1 1 2                 7
Other Infection Identifications Made (non-hospital acquired, existed prior to treatment) 0 11 17 17 14                 59

Metric 2012
Goal Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec TOTAL
Hand Washing Compliance 95%         57% 89% 100%   69% 87% 82% 43%  
Surgical Site Infections 0 0 1 2 1 0 1 2 1 0 0 2 0 10
Catheter Associated Urinary Tract Infections 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
Central Line Associated Blood Stream Infections 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Ventilator Associated Pneumonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hospital Acquired Pneumonia 0 0 1 3 2 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 8
Hospital Acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hospital Acquired Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
MRSA Identifications Made (non-hospital acquired, existed prior to treatment) 0 6 4 5 2 4 13 11 19 5 5 11 14 99
Clostridium Difficile Colitis (C diff) Identifications Made (non-hospital acquired, existed prior to treatment) 0 0 1 3 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 1 5 20
Other Infection Identifications Made (non-hospital acquired, existed prior to treatment) 0 0 0 8 1 10 17 5 25 4 0 13 5 88