A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to appropriate funds to the statewide program for infection control and epidemiology, as recommended by the house select committee on health care.
Whereas, approximately 200,000 people, or 5% of those hospitalized each year, develop hospital acquired infections; and
Whereas, these infections result in approximately 90,000 deaths and $6.5 billion dollars in additional health care costs annually; and
Whereas, the Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology (SPICE) provides educational programs for infection control professionals in hospitals and for long-term care personnel, conducts infection control workshops at community hospitals, area health education centers, and other health care facilities in the State, provides investigative and consulting services to health care facilities and professionals, offers instruction at the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and develops and publishes State guidelines for disease control for illnesses such as SARS, Avian Influenza, antibiotic resistant organisms, and bioterrorist and chemical agents, and provides other infection control and epidemiological-related services; and
Whereas, high quality infection control programs such as those which SPICE has helped to implement at hospitals and other health care facilities prevent infections, add to patient safety, improve the quality care,and reduce health care costs; and
Whereas, expansion of the SPICE program would help ensure that all North Carolina hospitals and health care facilities have high quality infection control programs and would allow SPICE to provide additional collaborative assistance to hospitals as they implement new infection control interventions, conduct on‑site infection control rounds, prepare ideal draft infection control policies and make them available on the Internet, and provide hospital infection control in-services on a rotating basis; Now, therefore,
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  There is appropriated from the General Fund to the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the sum of six hundred sixty‑three thousand dollars ($663,000) for fiscal year 2006‑2007 to be allocated to the Statewide Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology.
SECTION 2.  This act becomes effective July 1, 2006.