Hospitals Cutting Infection Control Staff, Creating Patient Safety Risks
October 1, 2025 4 minutes read
By Gregory Freeman
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and The Leapfrog Group have joined to express concern about how hospitals are cutting infection control resources and the dire effects that may have on patient safety.
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) have been declining since the pandemic, according to Leapfrog data, but the groups warn this progress could be lost if hospitals continue cutting infection control staff. HAIs are estimated to cost healthcare organizations up to $33 billion annually in excess healthcare costs, they note, and if hospitals continue cutting operational roles, such as janitors, sterile processing, and environmental service workers, the effects on patient outcomes — and their bottom lines — could be dire.
“The current healthcare landscape — marked by high levels of preventable patient harm, emerging infectious threats, workforce shortages and increasing complexity of care — demands that patient safety top the priority list of every health system CEO and board,” the groups said in a joint statement. “Yet, on the contrary, we are deeply concerned by reports of reductions in IPC (infection prevention and control) staffing and resources. These decisions jeopardize the very foundation of safe care.”
Leapfrog’s latest analysis of spring 2025 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade data shows that HAIs have continued to decline since they peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, says Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group in Washington, DC.
“Many hospitals are considering or actually reducing their infection preventionist workforce. That is a deep concern to Leapfrog because hospitals have made enormous progress in reducing hospital-acquired infections in hospitals, and they have a lot further to go. We’d like to see them continue the work,” Binder says. “Infection preventionists are the success story of most hospitals in this country, and we want to see that progress accelerate. We want to alert hospitals that this is an area they should focus on, not an area they should diminish.”
The fear of getting an HAI is common among consumers, and medical professionals know all too well how seriously an HAI can affect patient outcomes, Binder says. Unfortunately, those concerns do not always have an effect on staffing and budgeting decisions, she says.
“It flies under the radar in many cases. Certainly, hospitals are under a lot of pressure, and there’s a lot of change in the environment. They’re trying to adopt new technologies, and they’re grappling with many changes in federal regulations and rule making,” Binder says. “There’s a lot that hospitals have to address right now, but, that said, they should keep their eyes on the prize. And the prize is the patient. There’s no better way to be focused on the patient than to make sure they’re not getting a hospital-acquired infection.”
The entire ecosystem of healthcare is under financial pressure, so it is not surprising that organizations are looking for ways to cut costs, says Devin Jopp, CEO of APIC in Vienna, VA. But cutting infection control resources is a shortsighted solution, he says.
“As hospitals are trying to look for ways to balance the books, I have had reports from our members that some hospitals have actually cut head count or even cut infection prevention programs and facilities, or were contemplating doing so. That is super disturbing,” Jopp says. “We are reminding hospitals that patient safety, quality, and infection prevention don’t go away just because the financial conditions of the hospital are difficult. They’re going to have to find other places where they can make those cuts.”
Prevention is key in infection control, but then adequate resources for treatment also are essential. Hospitals are cutting both, and that can have dire consequences, Jopp says.
“From a risk manager’s perspective, what we want them to realize is that in their world they’re helping leaders navigate what is and what isn’t an acceptable risk when trying to put cuts into infection prevention control program,” he says. “Excessive cuts in infection control programs is really shooting themselves in the foot as a hospital because it’s putting patients at risk. In the long run, it’s not helping their bottom line. It’s going to hurt their bottom line.”
Hospitals also should consider the reputational risk, Jopp says.
“If the hospitals start being perceived as being less safe, or if we start seeing things like their Leapfrog score starts declining, I think that certainly puts the hospital at risk from a reputational side, too,” he says. “Risk managers can have an impact by advocating with leadership to make sure that, in their risk models, they’re really looking at all of these different angles as they’re trying to figure out what they can reasonably do without putting the patient in harm’s way.”
Greg Freeman has worked with Clinican.com and its predecessor companies since 1989, moving from assistant staff writer to executive editor before becoming a freelance writer. He has been the editor of Healthcare Risk Management since 1992 and provides research and content for other Clinician.com products. In addition to his work with Clinician.com, Greg provides other freelance writing services and is the author of seven narrative nonfiction books on wartime experiences and other historical events.
Sources
- Leah Binder, CEO, The Leapfrog Group, Washington, DC. Telephone: (202) 292-6713.
- Devin Jopp, CEO, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Vienna, VA. Telephone: (202) 789-1890.
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology and The Leapfrog Group have joined to express concern about how hospitals are cutting infection control resources and the dire effects that may have on patient safety.
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