AHA Statement on CDC and CMS Call to Action on Patient Safety

Rick Pollack
President and CEO
American Hospital Association
 

More than two years into an unprecedented worldwide pandemic, America’s hospitals and health systems, and our caregivers, remain more dedicated than ever to patient safety and delivering the highest quality of care to all. Our field has made many important gains over the last decade in improving care quality and has been transparent about sharing our progress. 

Last September, CDC published data showing decline in hospitals’ progress in reducing health care associated infections, such as central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI), catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).  This unprecedented virus put incredible stress on hospitals and clearly impeded some efforts to sustain hard-fought gains in making care better and safer. However, hospitals' commitment to improving safety is steadfast. 
 
This Call to Action from CMS and CDC demonstrates that their commitment to patient safety is also unwavering. We agree that there are opportunities to create more durable safety improvement strategies, enhance “just in time training” for staff called upon to perform tasks for patients with different needs than those for whom they typically provide care, and innovate to ensure hospitals have strong and diversely skilled teams available to care for all who require care, even during a national emergency.  
 
We view this Call to Action as an opportunity to work collaboratively with CMS and CDC and other committed organizations to gain valuable insights and build more resiliency into our patient safety efforts. 

While the pandemic has made the work more challenging, one thing remains constant: hospitals and health systems are united in their efforts to improve quality for patients.
 

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Contact:       Marie Johnson, mjohnson@aha.org 
                    Sean Barry, sbarry@aha.org