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Health Care–Associated Infections: A Serious Public Health Problem

The health care system and patient populations in the United States have changed substantially over the past several decades. According to an American Hospital Association report, there were 31,811,673 hospital admissions in 2005, with an average length of stay of 6 days, down from 7.3 days in 1980.1 As the length of stay in these facilities decreases, those patients remaining in acute care facilities are likely to be those requiring extensive medical interventions, and are therefore at high risk for health care–associated infections (HAIs).