The Missouri legislature passed Senate Bill 1279, which establishes the "Missouri Nosocomial Infection Reporting Act of 2004" which seeks to decrease the incidence of infections within healthcare facilities in Missouri. It requires hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers to report specific healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS). This law also requires DHSS to report this information to the public, which led to the development of this website.