Sentinel Event Alert 28: Infection control related sentinel events

Despite the small number of infection-related sentinel event cases reported to the Joint Commission, the number of patients acquiring infections in the health care setting, as well as the number of patient deaths due to an acquired infection, remains high. According to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year nearly two million patients in the United States get an infection in hospitals, and about 90,000 of these patients die as a result of their infection. Infections are also a complication of care in other settings including long term care facilities, clinics and dialysis centers.