Twitter Chat: Safe Healthcare

Every day, patients in medical facilities get infections while they are being treated for something else. Most of these infections are preventable, and CDC is working with the healthcare community to ensure prevention steps are taken with every patient. Healthcare-associated infections include staph infections, deadly diarrhea known as Clostridium difficile, bloodstream and urinary tract infections, and ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Nationally, the numbers of some healthcare-associated infections are declining; however, others remain stagnant. In addition, we are also witnessing the emergence of more dangerous bacteria. Earlier this month, CDC sounded the alarm about lethal, drug-resistant bacteria spreading in inpatient healthcare facilities such as hospitals and nursing homes. The March Vital Signs report shows that even our strongest antibiotics are being overpowered by germs called carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), leaving patients with difficult or untreatable infections. In addition to causing severe infections, CRE can share its resistance with other bacteria, potentially creating more untreatable infections.

While especially lethal, CRE are just one source of infections. Next week, Dr. Frieden will discuss HAIs – their impact on clinicians and patients, prevention steps, and their future – on Twitter. He will be joined by infection control experts Dr. Michael Bell, Acting Director of CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and Dr. Arjun Srinivasan, Associate Director for Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Programs in CDC’s Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion.

When:

Monday, March 25, 2:00-3:00PM EDT

Join the conversation:

Follow Dr. Frieden on Twitter @DrFriedenCDC and use the hashtag #CDCchat to participate.

More Information

• Follow @DrFriedenCDC on Twitter
• Follow @CDC_NCEZID on Twitter
• Vital Signs – Making Health Care Safer
• CDC Feature- Patients Face More Untreatable Infections from CRE
• CDC Safe Healthcare Blog
• CDC Healthcare-associated infections
• CDC Clostridium difficile infection
• CDC National Healthcare Safety Network