APIC Supports Budget Increase for NHSN

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) announces it has embarked on an advocacy campaign calling on Congress to support the $12 million increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDCs) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), as requested in the Presidents budget.

Infection preventionists are encouraged to click here and fill out the appropriate fields to send a letter to your Members of Congress asking them to support this funding.

Also, all members of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate will receive this fact sheet from APIC headquarters noting that most inpatient facilities reimbursed by Medicare are required to report specified healthcareassociated infections (HAIs) via NHSN. Additionally, data from other care settings and additional infection types will be phased in soon. This will increase the consistency and quality of HAI prevention data reported at the federal level. However, without additional funding, increasing the number of facilities reporting into NHSN from 3,000 in 2010 to an expected 16,500 in 2013 will strain the capacity of the system.

Despite NHSNs importance in the nations efforts against deadly HAIs and the growing number of facilities reporting into the system, NHSN funding has been flat since FY 2010. As a result, this is a critical time for infection preventionists to show support for a clearly defined, scientifically sound system for reporting HAIs and to let their legislators know.