YOUR COMMENTS

When is a law not a Law? The answer is: when your Government, that is charged to enforce the law; fails to enforce it.

The fact that the State District Attorneys office has also failed to press charges to enforce this Law is equally troubling.

In recent years, the close partnership with the Health industry has placed citizens at risk because of our Health Departments inability to be objective about public disclosure of infectious disease.

In the view of our Health Professionals
;they believe that these Hospital Acquired Infection Events should remain their Deep Dark Secret.Far removed from Public scrutiny and review. They fear that people are not bright enough to discern the rates of infections and fear that people may see the error of relying on these institutions to Manage their health.

Reducing the rates of infections begins with Transparency.Public Reporting brings real incentives to address infectious Rates and the tools for everyone to recognize the procedures to deal with the Issue.
- Gary Lampman, Hendersonville, Tennessee

My mother was cured of lung cancer in 1993 at Mass General, but continued to have lung problems thereafter. Over the course of time she had had 4 bouts of pneumonia from which she recovered each time with a stay at Mass General. Two years ago when she contracted a minor lung infection, we took her to ST. Josephs. After it seemed all was clear, she was moved out of ICU to general care. After a couple of days there she contracted a severe lung infection that turned into double pneumonia. We moved her to Mass General – their determination was that it was a hospital-acquired infection. Despite their superb work, she could not recover and died two weeks later. In the many times (over 15 years) that I saw Mom at Mass General, without exception, personnel ALWAYS washed before touching her. Geez, 31% of NH hospital workers DO NOT wash before/after dealing with a patient? Too Bad for Mom…
- Ben, Brookline, NH

Thank you to Nancy West for her excellent investigative reporting on the ongoing stonewalling that is preventing the public reporting of these infection rates.

I'd like to comment on a few quotes that were made in the article:

Representative Hess stated that Concord Hospital supported this legislation. I sat through repeated legislative testimony and quite the opposite is true: For two years that a reporting bill was up for vote (2005 and 2006) Concord Hospital was the only hospital in NH that sent it's own administrators to testify against public reporting (their testimony is on record at the General Court Website). In addition, Michael Green, Concord Hospital's CEO has repeatedly written op-ed pieces in The Concord Monitor that were anti-infection reporting.

It is the job of our state public health commissioner to get to the bottom of these infections rates, and get them reported with hospital identifiers as the law clearly states and stop allowing The NHHA or hospital leaders to influence this mandate. Anything that Michael Hill or anyone from the NHHA says is biased based on their own admission they are a paid hospital trade association with 10% of thier funds spent on representing the needs of hospitals. The American Hospital Association is listed in the top five in lobbying dollars spent in the entire country. In no way, shape or form are they representing the needs of patients or the public's health.

Dr. Montero commented that we have no way of estimating the number of deaths from these infections. I would encourage him to go to the CDC Wonder Program and he can quickly retrieve data on deaths in New Hampshre caused by septicemia, C. Difficile, urinary tract infections, as well as other deaths related to these infections like ARDS and pneumonia. The numbers are quite staggering.

Keep in mind that it has been proven over and over in several U.S. hospitals that the goal of hospital infection rates should be zero; anything higher is unacceptable.

Infection-caused deaths is a subject that hasn't even been explored, and yet they are undoubtedly one of the leading causes of death in NH and across the country.
- Lori Nerbonne, Sanbornton, NH

Readers of this article may be interested in a recent Wall Street Journal piece titled "Hospital Infections: Preventable and Unacceptable" - here is the link:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121867229022038907.html

Thank you Union Leader and Nancy West for continuing the dialogue on this important topic. Public awareness and education will empower lawmakers and patients to demand greater accountability and transparency from our state's hospitals.
- L Clarke, NH

The law was passed 2 years ago and some lawmakers are "happy" that some state officials are "working on it". Are these clowns for real? Every hospital had a two year notice that the first reports were due 12/07. Any that didn't comply should be dealt with like any other law breaker.
- Brian, Farmington

NH's Health and Human Service is running 15 years behind federal law regarding non-compliance with the Family Preservation and Family Support Services Act.

As former director of Health and Human Services, John Stevens accepts no accountability and is hoping to go to Washington to make laws when he apparently is unfamiliar with the Federal Register.
- Janine Wallace, Belmont