We prefer to think of hospitals as a place where you go when you’re sick, in order to get well. And that’s often the way it works. But put a lot of sick people all in the same building, and the medical staff has two things to worry about: providing you with the care you need, and keeping you from developing an infection.

The Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council has issued a new report about hospital infections, and how much they cost the Commonwealth. Included in the findings – in 2009, among Pennsylvania patients who acquired a healthcare-associated infection, nearly 30 percent were readmitted to the hospital within a month due to an infection or complication.

What can be done to reduce such incidents? We’ll discuss it with Joe Martin, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council, and Kimberly Rivera, Manager of Infection Control for PinnacleHealth.

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