In accordance with Connecticut General Statues Section 19a-490o and 19a-215, acute care hospitals (ACH), long term acute care hospitals (LTACH), inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF), and outpatient dialysis facilities must report certain Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) to the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
To fulfill CT DPH HAI reporting requirements, facilities must use the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN), a free-of-charge, web-based surveillance system established and maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Information about NHSN and enrollment instructions for facilities new to this reporting are available here: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn
Connecticut HAI reporting requirements mirror those established by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) for facilities participating in CMS quality improvement and reporting programs.
A list of reporting requirements and their associated deadlines can be found here: Reporting Requirements and Deadlines in NHSN per CMS
For more information on reporting requirements by facility type see below:
The following HAI measures must be reported for acute care hospitals:
Central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) in all adult, pediatric, and neonatal intensive care units (ICU) as well as in all adult and pediatric medical, surgical, and medical/surgical wards;
Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) in all adult and pediatric ICU as well as in all adult and pediatric medical, surgical, and medical/surgical wards;
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia identified using laboratory testing methods (LabID Events) in all inpatient locations (FacWideIN);
CDI: Clostridioides difficile (CDI) LabID Events in all inpatient locations (FacWideIN);
Surgical site infections (SSI) following colon surgical procedures; and
SSI following abdominal hysterectomies
Operational guidance and resources for ACH NHSN reporting, including location mapping checklists and monthly reporting checklists, can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/cms/ach.html
Outpatient dialysis facilities that participate in the CMS End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Quality Incentive Program (QIP) program must report dialysis events including positive blood cultures, I.V. antimicrobial starts, and signs of vascular access infection.
