The genetic formula for calculating the rate of occurrence of hospital-acquired infections in an intensive care unit in a given month involves using the number of hospital-acquired infections as the numerator. What would be the appropriate denominator for this calculation?
A) Number of nurses on duty in the ICU
B) Number of beds available in the ICU
C) Number of discharges (including deaths) of ICU patients
D) Number of diagnostic tests conducted in the ICU