Long-Term Care Healthcare-Associated Infections in 2024: An Analysis of 26,501 Reports

Background The Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS) is the largest repository of patient safety data of its kind in the United States. The PA-PSRS database contains over 5 million reports, including more than 448,000 long-term care (LTC) healthcare-associated infection (HAI) reports. Methods LTC HAI data from PA-PSRS were extracted on March 1, 2025. Infection counts were calculated based on report submission date, and rates were calculated based on infection confirmation date. Reports from LTC facilities and specific care areas were included in rate calculations if resident and device days were also entered in PA-PSRS for the corresponding month. Results In 2024, Pennsylvania’s LTC facilities submitted 26,501 infection reports to PA-PSRS, which is a 10.6% increase over the prior year and the third consecutive annual increase. The overall infection rate was 1.08 infections per 1,000 resident days, representing a 9.1% increase from 2023. The 2024 rate also established a significant three-year upward trend since the low point of 0.77 in 2021 ( R 2 =0.998, p =0.0011). All six regions of the state had an increase in infection rate. The overall infection rate increased due to rising rates across all infection types, except for device-related bloodstream infections. Conclusion In 2024, there was a rise in both the number of infection reports submitted to PA-PSRS and the overall infection rate. This third consecutive annual increase may be associated with enhanced surveillance and reporting in Pennsylvania’s LTC facilities stemming from the Patient Safety Authority’s intensive outreach and educational efforts. Plain Language Summary In conjunction with the Patient Safety Authority’s 2024 annual report, PSA data analysts took a close look at the 26,501 healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) reported last year by long-term care (LTC) facilities (e.g., nursing homes) to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System (PA-PSRS), one of the largest patient safety data repositories of its kind in the world. The total number of infection reports was a 10.6% increase from 2023 to 2024, the third consecutive annual increase, which may be associated with enhanced surveillance and reporting in Pennsylvania’s LTC facilities stemming from PSA’s intensive outreach and educational efforts.