Hospital Infection Reporting Bill Passes House

In 2004 the legislature passed the Missouri Hospital Infection Control Act, a landmark piece of legislation requiring hospitals to submit data on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) rates. Since then new superbugs have evolved, new causes of infection have been discovered, and new preventative measures have been found. Unfortunately our state has not updated its statutes to adapt to the changing healthcare landscape, which has put patients in danger. I filed House Bill 1066 to modernize our infection reporting laws based upon current best practices.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) are a serious threat to patient safety. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, healthcare-associated infections will affect 1 in 25 hospital patients. In 2011 there were approximately 722,000 HAIs in U.S hospitals and about 75,000 patients with HAIs died while in the hospital.

Patients deserve transparency from hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers on infection rates and should be able to turn to a credible source for timely infection data. HB 1066 updates Missouri’s infection reporting requirements, makes reports on infection rates more accessible to the public, and requires all hospitals to develop antibiotic stewardship programs. Reducing the inappropriate use of antibiotics is one way to protect patients from antimicrobial-resistant infections. This bill passed the House 127 to 9 and has been sent to the Senate.

My anti-bullying bill, House Bill 458, was recently passed by the Senate Education Committee. Senator Eric Schmitt, who is handling this legislation in the Senate, modified the bill to further strengthen its provisions. The Senate Committee Substitute for HB 458 would require district employees who witness bullying to verbally report the incident the same day and submit a written report within two days. It also includes procedures for schools to investigate violations of their anti-bullying policy. I appreciate Senator Schmitt’s hard work on this issue and hope HB 458 comes up for debate in the Senate soon.

As we near the end of the legislative session, the Select Committee on Social Services is hearing more and more bills from the Senate. We will amend these bills to include elements of legislation passed by the House. Putting the language on several different bills makes it more likely that necessary reforms will make it across the finish line. Of course, not every important bill can be passed in a year, and it is not uncommon for discussions on issues to span several sessions. This rigorous vetting process helps ensure that we send only the best bills to the Governor’s desk.