5-Step Enrollment for Acute Care Hospitals/Facilities
Note: Once your facility is enrolled in NHSN, you can add additional reporting options using your monthly reporting plan or activating a new component within the NHSN application. You do not need to re-enroll for each type of event reported.
Read NHSN Facility Administrator Enrollment Guide March 2018. Cdc-pdf[PDF – 797K]
Complete the 57.103 Patient Safety Component—Annual Facility Survey form January 2017 Cdc-pdf[PDF – 92K] Table of Instructions for Patient Safety Component – Annual Hospital Survey 57.103 Cdc-pdf[PDF – 412K]
Be sure to check trusted websites and spam blockers.
Time to complete step 1: 2 hours, 45 minutes
Agree to Rules of Behavior and register facility with NHSN using CMS Certification Number (CCN) or CDC assigned enrollment ID.
Time to complete step 2: 10 minutes
After registration, you will receive two emails: ‘Welcome to NHSN!’
arrives from NHSN immediately and ‘Invitation to Register’
arrives from SAMS-no-reply within 24 hours.
From the ‘Invitation to Register’ email, log in to SAMS with your username (i.e., email address) and temporary password provided. Accept the SAMS Rules of Behavior and complete the online SAMS registration form.
Time to complete step 3a: 16 minutes
Within 24 hours of successful online registration,
receive SAMS ‘Identity Verification Request’ email.
From the ‘Identity Verification Request’ email, print the Identity Verification Form, complete it, and take it to a notary public for endorsement. Fax the form and supporting documentation to CDC. You will receive ‘SAMS Account Activation’ and ‘SAMS Activity Authorization’ emails when your access is approved.
To access SAMS, you must receive your SAMS grid card, which will be delivered to your home address via U.S. mail within 14-21 days of your SAMS approval email. If you do not receive your grid card within 21 days, please contact samshelp@cdc.gov for assistance.
Time to complete step 3b: 35 minutes
Log in to SAMS using your password and SAMS grid card and select ‘NHSN Enrollment.’ Submit required NHSN forms online, including facility contact information.
Time to complete step 4: 32 minutes
Shortly after successfully submitting the forms, the Facility Administrator
and Primary Contact will receive a “NHSN Facility Enrollment Submitted” email.
Login to NHSN, select the appropriate component, and review the “Agreement to Participate and Consent”. Check the box to ‘Accept’ next to the appropriate contact name and then ‘Submit’ the form in each component.
Time to complete step 5: 5 minutes
Congratulations, enrollment is complete!
