The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released two annual reports on Friday that provide information about health care-associated infections, or HAI, and influenza vaccination rates among health care providers.

While California hospitals have made progress in preventing health care-associated infections, HAIs continue to be a significant public health issue in the state.

In 2015, hospitals reported 19,847 health care-associated infections to CDPH. From 2014 to 2015, 56 hospitals demonstrated significant improvement in preventing one or more HAI type.

Hospitals are making progress in preventing HAI with the exception of C. difficile diarrheal infections (CDI), which increased 8 percent since 2011. CDPH offered infection-prevention assistance to 73 hospitals with high infection rates.

The department’s influenza vaccination report indicates that vaccination rates among health care providers have improved in the past five years. Since 2011, vaccination rates increased 21 percent for hospital employees and 11 percent for non-employee health care providers, such as physicians or other contracted staff members.

Both the HAI and influenza vaccination rate reports include data reported by 392 licensed general acute care hospitals representing 419 campuses. The reports are on the CDPH Web site, and the data will also be made available on Dec. 19 on the California Health and Human Services Agency Data Portal.

Due to various factors in the way data are classified and validated, the information in this HAI report is not directly comparable to previous annual reports the department released. The report provides additional details about these changes.

Using data from these reports, CDPH created an interactive map for the public, Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination in California Hospitals and updated the data for the My Hospital’s Infections Map.

“Hospitals can utilize the data in our HAI report to implement and improve infection-prevention strategies,” said Dr. Karen Smith, CDPH director and state public health officer. “This same information can help Californians stay informed about what their local hospitals are doing to protect against health care associated infections.”

Links to reports:

·  HAI in California Hospitals, 2015

· 2015-2016 Healthcare Personnel Influenza Vaccination Annual Report