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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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CONTACT:
Roseann R. Cadau |
State Rep. Tony DeLuca |
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House passes bill to measure health-care associated infections
HARRISBURG, July 14 – State Rep. Tony DeLuca, D-Allegheny, said the state House today passed legislation (S.B. 968) that includes an amendment DeLuca sponsored as part of the governor’s health-care reform plan that would protect patients in medical facilities from hospital-acquired infections.
DeLuca has been a crusader in the fight to reduce the rate of acquired health-care associated infections people get at medical facilities and hospitals in Pennsylvania. DeLuca said people shouldn't get sicker instead of better while hospitalized.
“It’s a matter of saving lives, pure and simple,” DeLuca said. “My measure would place Pennsylvania at the forefront nationally in the fight to reduce health-care associated infections at medical facilities and hospitals across the state.”
DeLuca, chairman of the House Insurance Committee, held hearings across the state this year to take testimony on his proposal.
He said the public is in favor of the plan, which would put benchmarks in place to allow the Pennsylvania Department of Health to determine the progress that hospitals and other medical facilities are making on decreasing incidents of patient infections.
“We can’t monitor how hospitals are reducing the rate of infections unless we have the data to compare one hospital with another, and this legislation provides that information to the public,” DeLuca stated.
The amended legislation was sent back to the Senate for consideration.
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Attention Radio News Directors: an actuality from Rep. DeLuca is available by calling 1-800-452-3001. Enter PA32 (7-2-32) and the pound sign (#) at the menu prompt to get today’s sound. You can also download the sound in .mp3 format by visiting www.pahouse.com/mediacenter.