PORTLAND, Ore. – Oregon hospitals have been making progress in reducing health care-associated infections (HAIs), but they still fall short in meeting national standards in key areas.
According to the Oregon Health Authority, hospitals in the state struggled with reducing deadly surgical site infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections, and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bloodstream infections.
The OHA’s Healthcare-Associated Infections Program shared that Oregon hospitals reported 957 HAIs in 2024. Despite improvements in some areas, critical access hospitals performed worse than the 2015 baseline for central line-associated bloodstream infections and MRSA bloodstream infections.
“No health care provider wants to see a hospital-associated infection in one of their patients,” said Dat Tran, M.D., MS, HAI Program medical director. “These data are intended to help hospitals and health care providers understand where they’re doing well and where they may need to step up their infection control efforts to prevent HAIs and keep patients safe.”
OHA is actively working to support hospitals by providing technical assistance and infection control education. They are collaborating with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure health care staff have the necessary tools to prevent infections.
Visitors to health care facilities can also play a role by frequently washing their hands, monitoring for signs of infection, and avoiding visits if they are sick. Following facility infection prevention policies is crucial in helping reduce the spread of infections.