As a whole, Oregon hospitals failed in 2024 to meet national standards for preventing infections related to certain surgeries and other health care procedures, the Oregon Health Authority reported.

The agency found that Oregon’s hospitals on average had worse results than the national average on the rate of patients with surgical site infections in 2024 compared with the year before. They also fared worse in the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infections, central line-associated infections and those associated with antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as MRSA.

Most Oregon hospitals only met one federal standard — for infections caused by a certain type of bacterium, Clostridioides difficile.

These numbers are important because hospital-acquired infections are a leading cause of death — some 99,000 people die a year in the U.S. — and they’re preventable. Hospitals can curtail these infections by getting staff, visitors and patients to thoroughly wash their hands and through meticulous cleaning of hospital rooms and equipment.

In Oregon, nearly 1,000 patients came down with a hospital-acquired infections in 2024, according to a health authority news release. That compares with 975 in 2023, said Tim Heider, an agency spokesperson. He said the agency could not release the number that died or provide any information about demographics.

Curbing these infections is a priority for state and federal officials, who have set national targets for 2024 to 2028, using 2022 as a baseline. Hospitals can face penalties if their rates are too high.

Several hospital systems, including Legacy and St. Charles, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the state’s data. Both Providence and Kaiser Permanente released statements saying they rely on a range of methods to reduce infection control.

The health authority tracks five types of hospital-acquired infections on a dashboard that shows statewide trends and results for each facility.

“These data are intended to help hospitals and health care providers understand where they’re doing well and where they may need to step up their infection control efforts to prevent HAIs and keep patients safe,” said Dr. Dat Tran, who oversees the hospital-acquired infection program at the health authority.

The state looks at year-over-year rates and national targets. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants hospitals to cut bloodstream infections associated with central lines and MRSA by 50%, infections traced to surgical sites and Clostridium difficile by 30%, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections by 25%.

Higher surgical site infection rates in 2024 were associated with colon procedures, coronary artery bypass grafts, hysterectomies and hip replacements, the dashboard shows.

But rates of infections associated with knee replacements — 26 patients — dropped in 2024 by 5%.

Data shows varied rates

Rates also varied among hospitals. Nineteen had no surgical site infections, while 11 saw an increase over 2023. They included both of Kaiser Permanente’s hospitals in the Portland area, St. Charles hospitals in Bend and Redmond, Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay, Hillsboro Medical Center, OHSU Hospital and Salem Hospital.

Rates within most hospital systems were also mixed. Asante, Legacy, Providence and Samaritan had facilities that saw an increase in surgical site infections while other hospitals in their system had none.

State officials also compare rates for acute care hospitals, like OHSU Hospital and Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, that serve tens of thousands of patients a year and offer comprehensive services. And they look at data from smaller critical access hospitals, like St. Charles Prineville and Columbia Memorial Hospital, which are usually in rural areas and offer more limited services.

The data shows that critical access hospitals have much higher rates of infections associated with central lines that supply medications, fluids and nutrients to the body and higher rates of MRSA infections. But they have lower rates of catheter-associated urinary tract infections. The rates of Clostridioides difficile were about the same for the two types of hospitals.

Generally speaking, Providence’s hospitals fared well across the board with the exception of its Medford facility, which had more surgical site and MRSA infections in 2024.

Dr. Scott Marsal, who works on quality control at Providence, said the system relies on its infection control staff, protocols and monitoring to reduce infections.

Officials at Kaiser Permanente also said they take infection control seriously. Kaiser’s two hospitals in the Portland area both saw a drop in central line and urinary tract infections associated with catheters in 2024. But its Hillsboro hospital saw an increase in Clostridioides difficile infections and both facilities had increases in surgical site infections.

A statement from Kaiser Permanente said a review of surgical site infections related to colon procedures did not find any gaps in care.

“That said, we put action plans in place and doubled-down on practices that are vital to reducing infection risk — for example, we continuously review performance data, reinforce best practices with our care teams, and implement targeted interventions to uphold the highest standards of patient safety,” the statement said.

It said that a review of 2025 data showed “meaningful progress” in reducing rates for colon procedures.

This story was originally published by The Lund Report, an independent nonprofit health news organization based in Oregon. It is republished with permission. You can reach Nick Budnick at [email protected].

This republished story is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit opb.org/partnerships.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2026/02/01/oregon-hospitals-preventable-infections-standard/