Study suggests Wisconsin's rate of hospital-acquired infections is too high

Nearly 20 patients in Wisconsin hospitals each week get bloodstream infections from the central lines used to deliver fluids, medication and blood. Two to four of them will die. The estimate is based on applying national estimates to the average infection rate for Medicare patients at Wisconsin hospitals released this month by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The information shows that a Medicare patient's chances of getting a central-line infection in a Wisconsin hospital are slightly above the national average. (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL, 4/11)