The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Tuesday announced a new program it claims will help save 60,000 lives by stopping millions of preventable injuries and complications in patient care over the next three years. The program will be funded by up to $1 billion through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. More than 500 hospitals, as well as physicians and nurses groups, consumer groups and employers, have already pledged their commitment to the initiative, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a press conference. The program aims to reduce the current rate of hospital-acquired infections by 40 percent and the rate of hospital readmissions by 20 percent by 2013.