In hospitals, simple reminders reduce deadly infections

Timeouts to wash hands and put on hairnets, a checklist to ensure that precautions are taken, and advertising campaigns directed at doctors and patients have been credited with reducing the number of serious infections at New York City's public hospitals. Since 2005, central-line bloodstream infections have fallen 55% in adult intensive care units at the city's 11 public hospitals, according to new statistics. Ventilator-associated pneumonia declined by 78%.