E. Coli, a bowel bacteria.

Hospital Infections and Errors

More than two dozen Georgia hospitals, including two in Savannah, are feeling the new Medicare crackdown on hospital-acquired infections and errors. The move is similar to the existing federal penalties for excessive readmissions of patients within 30 days after discharge.

Overall, 721 U.S. hospitals are getting the new penalties, which means they will have their Medicare payments lowered by 1 percent.

The Georgia hospitals being penalized include some of the largest and best known in the state, including Atlanta’s Emory University Hospital, Grady Memorial, WellStar Kennestone, Piedmont Hospital and Atlanta Medical Center are among those receiving cuts.

Also getting penalties are Memorial University Medical Center and Candler Hospital in Savannah; Athens Regional Medical Center in Athens; Georgia Regents Medical Center and Doctors Hospital in Augusta; Coliseum Medical Centers and Coliseum Northside in Macon; and Southeast Georgia Health System’s Camden campus.

The penalties are hitting academic medical centers especially hard, Kaiser Health News reported. About half of them will be punished. Read more.

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