annually , hospital-acquired infections sicken 99,000 , kill 1.7 million in U.S . They add $ 246 million to health care costs Every year . Small changes -- using a checklist and brushing patients ' teeth -- can lower rates . Expert : Attitude is slowly shifting away from accepting infections as inevitable .
Every year , hospital-acquired infections sicken 1.7 million , kill 99,000 in U.S . They add more than $ 28 billion to health care costs annually . Small changes -- using a checklist and brushing patients ' teeth -- can lower rates . Expert : Attitude is slowly shifting away from accepting infections as inevitable .