HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS AND FINANCE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR

HOUSE JOINT MEMORIAL 14

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2010

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE HOSPITAL-ACQUIRED INFECTION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO MAXIMIZE ITS EFFORTS UNDER THE HEALTH-CARE-ACQUIRED INFECTIONS PREVENTION PLAN TO EXTEND EVIDENCE-BASED INFECTION PREVENTION IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS TO HOSPITALS STATEWIDE AS RAPIDLY AS POSSIBLE.

     WHEREAS, the Hospital-Acquired Infection Act was signed into law on April 7, 2009, establishing the hospital-acquired infection advisory committee and identifying a scope of work for that advisory committee; and

     WHEREAS, the advisory committee has been overseeing an initial voluntary participation of six hospitals in the surveillance and reporting of two indicators of hospital-acquired infections; and

     WHEREAS, the law requires an expansion of the activities of the initial voluntary program to a statewide program of qualified hospitals by July 1, 2011; and

     WHEREAS, there is widespread interest in tracking hospital-acquired infections, including federal health reform measures, at least one of which includes requirements to report on health care-associated infections to the federal centers for disease control and prevention and to refuse reimbursement for medicaid payments for certain health care-associated conditions; and

     WHEREAS, the state of Pennsylvania was the first state in the nation to begin collecting and reporting information about hospital-acquired infections; and

     WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has issued its first report on hospital-acquired infections, entitled Hospital-Acquired Infections in Pennsylvania, which reflects that hospital-acquired infections were associated with one thousand seven hundred ninety-three deaths and an estimated two hundred five thousand extra hospital days and two billion dollars ($2,000,000,000) in additional hospital charges in that state; and

     WHEREAS, the vigilant collection and reporting of information regarding hospital-acquired infections in New Mexico could lead to substantial savings for the health care system; and

     WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention has recognized that multiple types of health-care-acquired infections, including bloodstream infections, urinary tract infections, pneumonia and surgical site infections, are highly preventable; and

     WHEREAS, the federal centers for disease control and prevention has funded a multiyear federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 grant for the New Mexico department of health to develop a program to prevent health-care-acquired infections; and

     WHEREAS, the department of health has prepared a detailed health-care-acquired infections prevention plan as part of the requirements of this federal grant, including provisions for the establishment of a prevention working group to implement prevention strategies;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the hospital-acquired infection advisory committee in the department of health be requested to

maximize its efforts under the health-care-acquired infections prevention plan to extend evidence-based infection prevention improvement efforts to hospitals statewide as rapidly as possible; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, by October of each year, the department of health report to the legislative health and human services committee on its progress under the federal health-care-acquired infections grant; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a report by the hospital-acquired infection advisory committee on its progress to achieve the goals set forth in this memorial, as well as the statutory requirements of the advisory committee, be presented to the legislative health and human services committee by November 2010; and

      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the secretary of health.

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