Message from the President and CEO

As part of our commitment to being a leader in the fight against community- and hospital-associated infections, Martin Memorial will periodically publish its hospital-associated infection rates.

Most hospitals in the country are reluctant to voluntarily release their numbers – in part because of the difficulty of consistently measuring and reporting infection rates. Though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have guidelines for monitoring infections, the diagnosis of each case is often up to the discretion of the medical practitioner. That makes comparing the data between hospitals on an apples-to-apples basis difficult.

Plus, some healthcare facilities are more prone to infections based on the sickness of the patients they see. For example, a hospital that has a high number of organ transplants, heart procedures and cancer patients will generally have higher infection rates than a community hospital that has patients who are not as sick.

Martin Memorial compares its surgical infection rates with the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance System (NNIS). National rates are based on inpatient data from nearly 300 participating hospitals across the country and are not required to be posted.

The data measures infections by surgical procedures, based on CDC criteria. In the graphic below, the first column shows what the procedure is. The second column indicates the infection range per 100 procedures, with the smaller number the low end of the scale, the bigger number the high end of the scale. The third column indicates Martin Memorial’s infection rate per 100 procedures. So for example, the national infection rate average for a cesarean section is between 2.71 and 7.53 per 100 procedures. Martin Memorial’s infection rate for cesareans is 0.34 per 100 procedures.

Currently, eight states require hospitals to report their rates, including Florida. That information can be found at www.floridacomparecare.org. Though the latest report from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration has not been posted on the Web site, the state has provided each hospital with a preliminary report. That includes data from January 2005 to December 2005 and shows that the infection rate at Martin Memorial Medical Center is higher than expected and the infection rate at Martin Memorial Hospital South is as expected. Martin Memorial Medical Center had a risk-adjusted rate of 0.33 percent, while Martin Memorial Hospital South was listed at 0.24 percent. The statewide average was 0.23 percent.

The state data includes patients who came into the hospital with infections. In the case of Martin Memorial, we see a significant number of admissions related to infections acquired outside the hospital, due in large part to our sizable elderly population – many of which come to us from nursing homes.

That means there is no differentiation between those who had an infection when they entered the hospital and those who may have acquired it in the hospital. This is a significant point, because it does not reflect the true infection rates of a hospital.

Martin Memorial is dedicated to patient safety. We hope that by posting our infection rates, it will show the communities we serve that we are committed to patient safety and reducing infection rates.

Sincerely,
Richmond M. Harman
President and Chief Executive Officer

Surgery Infection Rates

Martin Memorial's data is from January to December 2006. The NNIS data is through June 2004, the most recent NNIS report available. (Due to changes the NNIS is making to its system, the 2005 data has been delayed.)