But they still have a way to go on decreasing infections once a patient arrives at the facility, according to an annual hospital progress report.

Statewide, mortality rates for more than a dozen surgeries generally have continued to decline and risk factors for many procedures have improved, according to the fifth annual report issued by the Niagara Health Quality Coalition and about 40 business and health care groups.

The report scores hospitals on 33 procedures, ranging from frequency of Caesarean-section baby deliveries to volume of coronary-bypass operations to mortality rates for hip-replacement surgery.

The evaluations were based on patients admitted to hospitals in 2005 and were adjusted to account for patient variables, including age, sex, diagnosis and other factors so that fair comparisons can be made among hospitals, officials said.

Since 2002, mortality rates have improved for 23 of the studied procedures and worsened for six. The others remained the same or could not be evaluated.

In 2005, 149 hospitals performed this procedure -- 106 of them at such a low rate they could not be evaluated. Effectively, that means they don't have enough practice, Boissonault said.

•No hospital in the state was red-flagged for a high mortality rate for coronary artery bypass surgery, but 25 were cited for a high rate of deaths due to congestive heart failure.

Fifty-one hospitals recorded above-average rates while 40 were below average. The ranges ranged from 16 percent (Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn) to about 41 percent (Bon Secours Hospital in Port Jervis, Orange County, and Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, Westchester County).

Twenty-five hospitals were red-flagged, including Faxton-St. Luke's in Utica and three Rochester-area facilities, Highland, Park Ridge and Strong Memorial hospitals.

Park Ridge issued a statement included in the report card saying it "is actively involved in the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's national infection prevention program. Over the past year, there has been a decrease in our infection rate due to our ongoing efforts to improve the care provided to our patients."

Hospitals around the state have an "increasing awareness about post-operative infections," said Bill Van Slyke, a spokesman for a hospital lobby group, the Healthcare Association of New York State.

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