DCHRMC Making Impressive Progress In Infection Safety
DCH Regional Hospital in 2024 outperformed national baseline infection levels from 2015 in three out of four of the study’s infection-related categories. That puts the hospital in line with statewide performance.
Northport Medical Center, which is owned by DCH performed similar to the national baseline. Overall hospitals in the state performed better. The findings are included in the Healthcare-Associated Infections in Alabama annual report 2024
The study is conducted annually by Alabama’s Healthcare-associated Infections program and measures state and hospital-specific patient infection rates. These results combined with other assessments such as Leapfrog Data shows that DCH is making significant progress in reducing infection rates and patient safety. The fall 2025 Leapfrog graded DCH a B.
“We publish an annual report that provides information on the number of infections per category and whether the hospital performs better than the national average, similar to it, or worse than,” State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris remarked in an ADPH press release. "“In addition to the report, our staff members work with hospitals to improve the accuracy of the reporting, education that not only helps with public reporting, but more importantly helps hospitals collect data that is valuable in their efforts to improve care.”
Since DCH CEO Katrina Keefer came on board in 2022 she has been working to make improvements in all phases of medical care. In an interview with Tuscaloosa Thread in December, Keefer talked about the improvement in infection rates the medical center has made since a "D" score by Leapfrog in 2022.
"I also believe that we're scoring better because we've refocused and re-engaged on higher-acuity services, a lot of which has come through physician recruitment. A part of your Leapfrog score is demonstrating you have clinical competence and you perform enough of certain kinds of procedures to count.
"So, it's been multifaceted, but we're focusing on meeting people where they are, and the consistency of the care given.
"We also know a clean hospital means a lot to people - which is why I spend as much time or more time with my Environmental Services team than I do some of the other caregivers in our organization."
Danne Howard, President of the Alabama Hospital Association, highlighter the importance placed on hospital infection control, "“These results reflect the dedication of frontline caregivers and hospital leaders, as well as the ongoing work of the Association’s quality and infection prevention efforts that provide education, hands-on training through infection prevention bootcamps, sharing of best practices, and direct support to hospitals across the state."
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