Healthcare-associated infections • MRSA • PFAC safety questions
Risk alerts should be readable by the people most affected by them.
This page translates HAI and MRSA risk into PFAC questions leaders can use before, during, and after care. It connects lived experience to practical infection-prevention, communication, escalation, and follow-up work without treating a patient story as outcomes evidence.
Patient-first alert
Would my family know what to do if infection signs appeared after surgery?
For PFACs, HAI work is not only a technical infection-prevention topic. It is also communication, trust, discharge readiness, escalation, dignity, and whether the patient is believed when something feels wrong.
What warning signs are explained before discharge?
Who does the patient call if symptoms change?
How fast does the system respond?
What happens when the patient or family says something is wrong?
Interactive HAI dashboard
National HAI signal translated into PFAC action.
CDC national HAI progress data are shown as an interactive signal for discussion. Hover over each measure for the patient and family question attached to it.
2024 vs 2023Change in acute-care HAI SIR
2015 baselineProgress and remaining pressure
Live CDC surveillance
HAI surveillance from CDC HAICViz.
Explore public surveillance for invasive Staphylococcus aureus and candidemia. Use national patterns as context and compare them with local infection-prevention data.
CDC HAICVizInvasive S. aureus
Loading CDC surveillance…
CDC HAICVizCandidemia
Loading CDC surveillance…
Interpretation boundary: CDC notes that HAICViz methods and datasets may differ from other HAIC publications and that small numbers can make year-to-year changes difficult to interpret. These feeds do not measure PFAC effectiveness or local hospital performance.
Evidence signal
Use national HAI trends to frame the question, then ask for local data.
The public evidence is useful for identifying the safety problem. It is not a substitute for local infection, readmission, complaint, call-center, or post-discharge data.
View evidence detail table
| Signal | What the public data support | What PFAC should ask locally | Leadership follow-through |
|---|---|---|---|
| National HAI burden | Healthcare-associated infections remain a meaningful patient-safety risk. | Which infections create the greatest local burden, and which patients are most affected? | Bring the local trend, affected populations, and current prevention priorities to the PFAC. |
| 2024 progress | CDC reported improvement in several acute-care HAI measures compared with 2023.2 | Did the same measures improve locally, and what changed in practice? | Separate national progress from local performance and document the local evidence source. |
| Not every measure improved | CDC reported that abdominal hysterectomy SSI moved in the wrong direction nationally.2 | Where are local exceptions, plateaus, or worsening signals being reviewed? | Escalate exceptions rather than averaging them into a reassuring overall story. |
| Post-discharge risk | Infection harm may become visible after the patient leaves the hospital. | Can patients recognize warning signs, reach the right person, and receive a timely response? | Review discharge instructions, escalation pathways, post-discharge contacts, and report-back. |
PFAC discussion guide
Questions for infection prevention and patient experience leaders.
Preparation
Do patients and families receive plain-language infection prevention expectations, warning signs, and escalation instructions?
Listening
How does the care team respond when the patient or family notices a wound concern, fever, confusion, pain change, or another warning sign?
Transition risk
What does the patient actually understand before leaving the hospital, and how is understanding checked?
Escalation
How quickly can a patient reach the right person after discharge if infection symptoms appear?
Access barriers
Which patients are less likely to get clear instructions, timely follow-up, transportation, language access, or trust from the system?
Closed loop
When PFACs identify a risk, who owns the fix, what changes, and how is the result reported back?
Evidence synthesis summary
Infection prevention is also a communication and escalation problem.
Healthcare-associated infection prevention is not only a technical safety program. For patients and families, it is also a communication, discharge readiness, trust, and escalation problem. PFACs can help leaders test whether infection warning signs are understandable, whether escalation pathways work after discharge, whether patient concerns are believed, and whether harm signals become system learning.
What would patients and families need to know before discharge?
Which warning signs are most likely to be missed?
What happens when a loved one says something is wrong?
Where has patient voice changed infection prevention practice?
Evidence provenance
Primary scholarly and surveillance sources.
References follow AMA 11 style. Data years are stated separately from publication dates so the evidence trail remains auditable.
- Chea N, Li R, Eure T, et al. Health care-associated infections in U.S. hospitals, 2023 versus 2015. N Engl J Med. 2026;395(3):255-266. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2510881
- National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion; National Healthcare Safety Network. 2024 National and State Healthcare-Associated Infections Progress Report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2026. Published July 15, 2026. doi:10.15620/258487
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HAIs: reports and data. Updated 2026. Accessed September 29, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/healthcare-associated-infections/php/data/
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HAICViz: invasive Staphylococcus aureus. Data.CDC.gov. Accessed September 29, 2026. https://data.cdc.gov/Public-Health-Surveillance/HAICViz-iSA/ssz5-s49e
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. HAICViz: candidemia. Data.CDC.gov. Accessed September 29, 2026. https://data.cdc.gov/d/34p9-h4us
- CDC Antibiotic Resistance and Patient Safety Portal: 2024 national progress profile
- CDC MRSA information
- AHRQ MRSA Prevention Toolkit
- CMS Hospital Value-Based Purchasing Program
- CMS Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program
- Rosie Bartel lived-experience anchor