California hospitals will soon be required to do more to combat potentially fatal infections. Governor Schwarzenegger has signed two measures aimed at curbing the spread of antibiotic-resistant infections in hospitals. KPBS Reporter Kenny Goldberg has the story.
The antibiotic-resistant staph infection known as MRSA can be fatal.
The new laws require hospitals to adopt stricter infection control rules, and to report infection rates to the public.
Epidemiologist Frank Myers works at Scripps Mercy Hospital . He supports the new regulations, but says there's a downside.
Frank Myers: This is dedicating a lot of resources towards MRSA, and we're worried that we would be driving resources away from other multi-drug resistant organisms that are problems in healthcare facilities today.
California health officials say up to one in ten patients get infections while they're in the hospital…sometimes during surgery.
Kenny Goldberg, KPBS News.
