"At a time when we are focused on expanding health care coverage to include all Americans and making our overall healthcare system more efficient, it is absolutely necessary that the care provided is safe, smart and cost-effective.  Screening for and preventing MRSA infections in our hospitals will not only save tens of thousands of lives and billions of dollars each year, but will increase patients’ confidence in the ability of their local hospitals to make them well.”  - Congresswoman Jackie Speier, author, HR 2937, the MRSA Infection Prevention and Patient Protection Act.

Every year, more Americans die from MRSA infections caught in hospitals than die from AIDS, emphysema, homicide or many other more well-known causes.

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureas (MRSA) are bacteria that are impervious to most antibiotics and are especially fierce in hospitals where patients’ immune systems may be compromised, leaving them more susceptible to infections. 

Currently, few healthcare facilities screen patients for MRSA despite the overwhelming success at those that do at preventing the spread of the bacteria.

MRSA infections contracted in American hospitals take the lives of nearly 19,000 each year, without discriminating based on age, health status or quality of institution.  Case in point:  NBA star Grant Hill acquired a MRSA infection while being treated for a fairly routine ankle injury.  In addition, more than 14,000 pregnant or postpartum women contract MRSA infections every year.

Besides the human tragedy, MRSA is costly.  America spends $8.7 billion annually to fight these infections with up to $4 million spent in hospitals alone.   A recent study in Pennsylvania found that hospital patients with MRSA cost the system seven times more than patients without MRSA. 

HR 2937, the MRSA Infection Prevention and Patient Protection Act:
• Requires hospitals to screen all patients entering high-risk units for MRSA infection
• Mandates the adoption of best practices including contact precautions among health care professionals to prevent MRSA’s spread within hospitals. 
• Patients testing positive for MRSA must be informed of the result and given instructions on how to prevent the spread of their infection when discharged.
• Hospitals will be required to report the number of cases of hospital-acquired MRSA that occur within their facilities.