Yesterday’s Chicago Sun Times ran an article by Betsey McCaughey, of RID, titled Poor hospital hygiene enough to make you ill. The article is relatively short, but all of it is very interesting. Here are a couple of snippets to make you stand up and pay attention:
How big is your risk? In the United States, one out of every 20 hospital patients gets an infection, which kills as many people in our country as AIDS, breast cancer and auto accidents combined — an estimated 103,000 deaths each year. Amazingly, these infections are almost all preventable.
And another, concerning the situation in New Orleans:
Recent events show just how dangerous the situation could become. Hundreds of hurricane victims who waded through sewage-infested floodwaters in New Orleans and were exposed to high levels of dangerous bacteria were then brought to hospitals in Alabama and Texas for treatment. Though no outbreaks of infectious diseases have been reported, these hospitals ‘’should exercise a higher level of precaution’’ to prevent the spread of bacteria from flood victims to other patients, warns Nobel Laureate Dr. Joshua Lederberg, a member of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. ‘’It’s more important now to do what should be done routinely,’’ he explains.
And finally, a dramatic conclusion:
Not enough was done to prevent the spread of acinetobacter at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., where 40 soldiers were brought for treatment after contracting infections in Iraq. The germ raced through the hospital, infecting other patients who had not come in with it. Imagine if the same hospital had to deal with bioterrorism. That’s why shoddy infection control is also poor homeland security.
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1 response so far ↓
john smythe // Jun 19, 2007 at 2:11 pm
let’s get real — Medicare pays for all hospital services — this is INCOME to the hospital — it is disgusting, however, that the ones who bear the brunt are the elderly, who are defenseless to this scheme. There must be $ incentive for hospitals to clean up their act and stop preying on the vulnerable.
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