The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Healthcare Safety Network submission (NHSN) deadline for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality Reporting Programs is 11:59 p.m. PT Aug. 17.

Acute care hospitals, cancer hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, long-term acute care hospitals and skilled nursing facilities must submit all required healthcare-associated infection and healthcare personnel vaccination data by the deadline to meet CMS requirements.

Data submitted after the deadline will not be transmitted to CMS or included in pay-for-reporting or pay-for-performance programs, making timely and accurate submission essential.

Key submission reminders are to:

• Ensure at least one staff member has active access to Secure Access Management Services and appropriate NHSN user rights.
• Confirm monthly reporting plans are complete, if applicable.
• Enter all required summary and event data, including “no events” where appropriate.
• Resolve all NHSN homepage alerts before submission.

For acute care hospitals participating in the Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting programs, required data submission includes:

• 2026 first quarter (Jan. 1-March 31) central line-associated bloodstream infection and catheter-associated urinary tract infection data.
  • All intensive care unit locations.
  • Adult and pediatric medical, surgical and medical/surgical wards.
  • New: All inpatient oncology locations.
  • Includes Veterans Affairs and Department of War acute care hospitals.
• 2026 first quarter inpatient colon and abdominal hysterectomy surgical site infection data for adults 18 and older.
• 2026 first quarter methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and difficile LabID event data, including all healthcare-onset and community-onset events.
  • Facility-wide inpatient locations.
  • Emergency department and 24-hour observation locations.
  • Includes Department of War acute care hospitals.

The MHA Keystone Center encourages facilities to submit early to allow time for validation and corrections. Accurate NHSN reporting supports CMS compliance, statewide benchmarking and patient safety improvement efforts.

Facilities needing assistance with National Healthcare Safety Network data submission, validation or requirements may contact the MHA Keystone Center.

Phone: (517) 323-3443
Fax: (517) 323-0946

Phone: (517) 703-8601
Fax: (517) 703-0628