The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has received federal ACA funds to continue its life-saving work on preventing healthcare-associated infections.
An estimated 34,000 healthcare-associated infections cost Massachusetts up to $473 million per year.
The federal funding will go towards establishing a quality improvement initiative focused on the prevention of clostridium difficile infection (CDI), a potentially life-threatening infection. The Department of Health and Human Services announced funding to all 50 states for work on infections as well as immunization programs and enhancements to laboratories and technology. Massachusetts has made great strides in publicly reporting and preventing infections. With budget cuts at the state level, the state’s infection program would be unable to maintain and expand its work without federal funding. This funding will most certainly save many lives in Massachusetts and beyond.
-Deb Wachenheim
