Three years ago Curtis Lindell was severely burned in an accident on his job.

KHOU - TV

Is choosing a hospital a health gamble?

But it’s what happened in the hospital that infuriated his wife.

“It’s unbelievable. It is so simple to prevent these things and protect these patients,” said Lisa Lindell.

Lab reports show her husband contracted an infection in the hospital and nearly died.

Infections in burn patients are common, but Lisa thought carelessness was to blame.

“And then what I started seeing is nurses with no gloves, no hat, and no mask. A parade, it was a literal parade over the weeks I started observing these things,” said Lisa.

By their very nature, hospitals are breeding grounds for infections which are why doctors and nurses are supposed to constantly wash their hands.

It is one of the surest ways to prevent infections from spreading.

It is a constant battle that isn’t always won.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates nearly two million people in America get an infection in the hospital each year and 90,000 patients die.

Yet in Texas and most other states hospitals aren’t required to reveal their infection rates.

Lisa McGiffort said that may be about to change. “Well we would like to see a public reporting system of hospital acquired infections.”

McGiffort is on a panel that has just delivered recommendations to the Texas Legislature that would force every hospital in the state to make its infection rats known to the public. “So there is evidence that publishing this information can improve care.”

Improve care, she says, by arming consumers with information.

That’s something Lisa Lindell is all for. “So that in itself is going to motivate them, to take these things more seriously, put your gloves on put your mask on, wash you hands is the big thing.”

11 News found no opposition to the plan from doctors and hospitals.

“The argument is if hospitals are required to have public reporting, they will be compelled to do a better job,” said Doctor Charles Cox at Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital.

“Right, I think anything you measure you will improve.”

But some doctors caution infection reporting won’t mean a thing if the public can’t figure it out.

“Making sure that consumers understand the information they are looking at, and making sure it is done in a fair and scientific fashion,” said Doctor Luis Ostrosky at U.T. Medical School.

After 108 days in the hospital, the man who looked like a mummy is still recovering from burns and infection.

“There are a lot of other complications that I deal with on a daily basis, medication that I have to take every day,” said Curtis Lindell.

But his wife believes the infection should never have happened.

She has a Web site and book that are chronological accounts of all those days he spent getting better.

The debate over public reporting is about to move from the hospitals to the state Capitol and Lisa Lindell plans to be there to tell her story about the risks and the dangers of infections.