Dirty Places, Part 12: Hospitals/Nursing Homes
There are so many more places that deserve recognition as Dirty Places, but I thought I would sum up the Dirty Dozen with the dirtiest and most dangerous places -- hospitals and nursing homes.
This week, my elderly mother was discharged from the hospital and permanently entered a nursing home, and sadly it is going to be a one-way trip. My brothers and I hoped that we would never have to make this decision, but it is no longer safe for her to be in assisted care.
The state of her physical and mental health now requires 24-hour care, not something we can provide. We toured many facilities before making our decision, but my non-medical brothers do not look at those places with the same jaundiced eye. First there are the smells of urine and feces; the sounds of moaning and crying, and the sights of frail elders slumped over in chairs in wheelchairs lining the halls and day-rooms.
Is this really the best we can do for our elderly? Is this what we are getting for $4000 a month? I can assure you that all of us have been losing sleep over this painful decision.
Already, my older brother has experienced problems. He arrived to find that she had soiled herself. She rang her buzzer and they had promised to come and help her to the bathroom, but no one arrived for over twenty minutes. Even in my mother's state of mind, she was clearly mortified.
As poor as we were growing up, cleanliness was paramount in our home. She changed our sheets and pillow cases every day! She even ironed them. We always had clean clothes. Our one bathroom and tiny kitchen was spotless. She was always on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. My mother grew up in a family of 13 brothers and sisters in a three-bedroom house with a two-hole outhouse and cleanliness was not always on the front burner. I am sure that her childhood experiences set the stage for her being a clean fiend (her words).
For her remaining days, she deserves the right to maintain those high standards of cleanliness. Perhaps, it is my own childhood experience of living with a clean fiend that motivated me to write about the Dirty Places in the first place.
The chance that my mother will get an infection is high. The CDC reports that over two million people contact nosocomial infections when they are hospitalized, resulting in over 80,000 deaths. Unless the nursing home or hospital staff strictly adheres to standard (or enhanced) precautions, people will die. Those precautions are as simple and commonsense as thorough hand-washing, the use of disposable gloves, and the routine environmental disinfection. Those precautions work, but only if people consistently use them. I do not want my mother to become a statistic.
Although this is a bit off the subject, I have been treating an unusual number of patients in the last several months for Staphylococcal skin infections and abscesses. And, not your garden-variety Staph that half of the population carries either, but MRSA -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, a type of super-bug that is resistant to certain antibiotics. MRSA infections have been increasing rampant in hospitals and nursing homes since first recognized in 1961, but now they are in my backyard (and yours).
I would like to sum up my Blog series on Dirty Places by emphasizing that all of us are part of the problem and part of the solution. There should be a worldwide "Neighborhood Watch" for hygienic procedures. We must watch out for ourselves as we watch out for the others that share our planet. Viruses and bacteria have thrived on Earth long before the emergence of our species, and they will remain here long after we are extent. In the meantime, we have no choice but to co-exist. Dirty Places (and dirty people) will always exist. We have the continuing responsibility -- no, the obligation -- to make them LESS dirty.
Now, go wash your hands and have a nice, clean day....
Related Topics: Understanding MRSA, Long-Term Care: Choosing the Right Place
Technorati Tags: managed care, assisted care, MRSA, dirty places
This week, my elderly mother was discharged from the hospital and permanently entered a nursing home, and sadly it is going to be a one-way trip. My brothers and I hoped that we would never have to make this decision, but it is no longer safe for her to be in assisted care.
The state of her physical and mental health now requires 24-hour care, not something we can provide. We toured many facilities before making our decision, but my non-medical brothers do not look at those places with the same jaundiced eye. First there are the smells of urine and feces; the sounds of moaning and crying, and the sights of frail elders slumped over in chairs in wheelchairs lining the halls and day-rooms.
Is this really the best we can do for our elderly? Is this what we are getting for $4000 a month? I can assure you that all of us have been losing sleep over this painful decision.
Already, my older brother has experienced problems. He arrived to find that she had soiled herself. She rang her buzzer and they had promised to come and help her to the bathroom, but no one arrived for over twenty minutes. Even in my mother's state of mind, she was clearly mortified.
As poor as we were growing up, cleanliness was paramount in our home. She changed our sheets and pillow cases every day! She even ironed them. We always had clean clothes. Our one bathroom and tiny kitchen was spotless. She was always on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor. My mother grew up in a family of 13 brothers and sisters in a three-bedroom house with a two-hole outhouse and cleanliness was not always on the front burner. I am sure that her childhood experiences set the stage for her being a clean fiend (her words).
For her remaining days, she deserves the right to maintain those high standards of cleanliness. Perhaps, it is my own childhood experience of living with a clean fiend that motivated me to write about the Dirty Places in the first place.
The chance that my mother will get an infection is high. The CDC reports that over two million people contact nosocomial infections when they are hospitalized, resulting in over 80,000 deaths. Unless the nursing home or hospital staff strictly adheres to standard (or enhanced) precautions, people will die. Those precautions are as simple and commonsense as thorough hand-washing, the use of disposable gloves, and the routine environmental disinfection. Those precautions work, but only if people consistently use them. I do not want my mother to become a statistic.
Although this is a bit off the subject, I have been treating an unusual number of patients in the last several months for Staphylococcal skin infections and abscesses. And, not your garden-variety Staph that half of the population carries either, but MRSA -- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, a type of super-bug that is resistant to certain antibiotics. MRSA infections have been increasing rampant in hospitals and nursing homes since first recognized in 1961, but now they are in my backyard (and yours).
I would like to sum up my Blog series on Dirty Places by emphasizing that all of us are part of the problem and part of the solution. There should be a worldwide "Neighborhood Watch" for hygienic procedures. We must watch out for ourselves as we watch out for the others that share our planet. Viruses and bacteria have thrived on Earth long before the emergence of our species, and they will remain here long after we are extent. In the meantime, we have no choice but to co-exist. Dirty Places (and dirty people) will always exist. We have the continuing responsibility -- no, the obligation -- to make them LESS dirty.
Now, go wash your hands and have a nice, clean day....
Related Topics: Understanding MRSA, Long-Term Care: Choosing the Right Place
Technorati Tags: managed care, assisted care, MRSA, dirty places
48 Comments:
Every time I head back to the hospital for another surgery (I have highly messed up feet) I worry about infections. I worry about them all the time because I have screws that are at high risk right now, but I feel more comfortable while I'm controlling the environment. Any suggestions for minimizing infection risk while staying in a hospital?
Make EVERYONE, nurses and doctors, wash and sanitize their hands before examining you. Be careful when in the bathrooms or public areas frequented by other patients.
Dr. Moser,
Very interesting subject. My father died in July at age 85. He had been in and out of a nursing home and a hospital for about a year. I was never fond of the nursing home environment, but given the nature of such homes in general, I thought his was better than most -- although cleanliness was NOT next to Godliness for them. Within two weeks of his death, my wife and I both made trips to the doctor for "boils" that would neither come to a head nor heal. We were subsequently both diagnosed with MRSA infections, and I've been battling MRSA in my sinuses. The boil n my wife's lower leg grew huge, and she has been making frequent trips to the doctor for nearly two months now. Do you think the nursing home or the hospital were likely sources of this problem? We've considered other possibilities. Neither our daughter or son (both teenagers and both active in sports) were affected. Thanks.
I am a health care worker and I deal with probably 10 patients a day in our clinic. I had a toenail removed about 2 weeks ago and I was just diagnosed with MRSA. I am mortified as I am very conciencous about washing my hands between patients and wearing gloves. Any suggestions on how I could have caught this. Is it air borne, could I have gotton it from a patient. How can i keep my family safe from getting it. I have so many questions and I cant seem to find the answers. Please help
I was in Portsmouth Naval Hospital in Jan 2005 for Neck Fusion Surgery. I was infected was Serratia Marcescenes. My neck swelled up as big as my head. I don't remember this as my memory was gone for five days after surgery. At first I was diagnosed with pnuemonia, but later Serratia. I had to after two more surgeries to drain out the infection which grew very quickly. I was in the hospital for 19 days. The day after I got home my kidneys failed and had to go back in the Hospital for another 7 days after that. I had to take a 1000mg of Cipro a day for 17 months. I had to Zosyn through an IV pump for 2 months. I am trying to find out if the suppression by Cipro kills the Serratia or if the Serratia stays in your body.
Christyne wrote....my mom was in hospital for UTI, went into a rehab due to breaking her wrist in the first place..things escalated...the UTI was so bad, it was like she was just plain bleeding vaginally...was in ICU, sent to a rehab as soon as she no longer "needed" hospital care...within 3 wks, anther major uti at rehab resulted in another horror trip to hospital...she could have died from septicimia...her urine was thick as jell....they were aware something was wrong..did not react...i kept after them, they ignored me...now, back to rehab, we have incidence where she seems lethargic, they state maybe depressed, doesn't want to do physical therapy they state...NO, she cannot do it...the lethargy became worse and worse...I kept going to nurses station to ask what was up....so I get a call at 10:15 pm..she is being rushed to ER...she has potassium level of 7.1 and sodium way too low, everything was off...now another UTI....ok yesterday, getting antibiotics, more testing..today...she is in isolation.....VRE....I must wear a blue disposable suit and gloves to come in contact with my mother...what does this mean to her??? to me??? I have been helping her eat, washing her clothing, visiting her every single day...now do I have VRE...the hospital blames rehab, the rehab blames hospital...how did this happen...???? now every hospital stay will be an isolation stay???? and what about my life and my husband's....she needs 24/7 care and is incontinent, and cannot even stand up at this point being so weak...I am not of size to be able to care for her myself...even if I had health care workers come in....she has VRE now...what to do???? the number of times I see no gloves, or gloves while toileting my mother, and then wheeling her back in wheelchair with same gloves on that were used in toileting...and I touched that wheelchair after that also....why was I not advised of this plague ??????
Christyne is in Tampa, FL...the hospital is UCH...the rehab is Lakeshore.....
Feb '07 my father (85) had hip replacement, 4 days later released to rehab, 5 days in rehab release to home care. Two weeks into home care infection is noticed, taken to PCP no culture, infection persist taken to ER, culture taken. Positive to MRSA, five days later back into surgery for removal of boils. Five days in hospital and now MRSA to deal at home with 6 weeks of IV antibiotics. Poor education on behalf of health care providers and the nightmare begins. Care providers become apprehensive about educating or accepting responsibilities. Yes, do use cleanliness as much as possible and do hold health care providers responsible, also we as citizens are also responsible. Somewhere we all must do something, it is amazing how it can get out of hand really quick. The hospital is Ormond Memorial, Ormond Fl, the rehab is Indigo in Daytona Beach, FL.
Reading all of these comments have been very helpfull to me as my Aunt has been hospitalized several times from 3 different nursing home stays, each one with a suspicious staph infection ID'd as MRSA by you people. Thanks. We are really ignorant about this as no one is answering questions. tomorrow we will ask MORE and DEMAND more answers. Thank you all once again. Now I can get some sleep. Lynda
Dr. Moser
My dad was finally diagnosed with mrsa after about two weeks of being in and out of ER. He has been in a nursing facility for about 2 months and this is where he got it! He has diabetes, has had a massive stroke, plus a smaller stroke, which is why his doctor strongly urged my mom and me to have him in a nursing facility. During the last month he had been in and out of the hospital for "ulcers" "UTI" and now, a "blood infection". It wasn't until today that i heard MRSA. While in the nursing facility, I had been shaving my dad, wiping his saliva, washing his face and eyes during my visits.
I am worried about my health now. I have been battling a cold and have had serious sinus issues for the last two weeks. What is worse is that my ears are completely clogged and have been for about a week. I have been to the doctor three times and am currently taking omnicef, claritin-d, nasonex, and ciprodex ear drops.....I feel better but my ears are still clogged. Could this have anything to do with mrsa?
both the nursing facility and hospital is in hollister, ca. i, too, hold the health care providers at the nursing facility responsible and they will hear from me!
Hi Cindy,
To have Dr. Moser address your ear infection questions, please post that issue on our Ear, Nose & Throat: Rod Moser, PA, PhD message board.
I would like to comment on the issue of mrsa and my husband who has recently past away while in rehab. Initially he went to the hosp.(12/18/06) for pulmonary edema and later that week he had an angiogram done and found a 95% blockage in his left main artery in his heart. He had diabetes, compression fracture in his back, afib in his heart, COPD, etc. several health issues. He went on a vent to transport by helicopter, he went off the vent w/in 24 hours after the initial admission to hosp. then he worked to build up his strength so he could have bypass surgery while in hospital. He developed an UTI bfore the surgery but with the quick thinking of one of the nurses it was resolved with antibotics, then he prepared for the bypass to be done on Jan. 2, 2007 he came thru the surgery well considering his other health issues, once again on a vent for about 24 - 48 hours then the rest was suppose to be just getting stronger and coming home. Wrong a week out from surgery he got ARDS/pneumonia back on vent(Jan. 10, 2007)for about 12 days, then came off vent (Jan. 21, 2007) during this time he developed a very high fever, and we then found out he had another UTI & a staph infection in his PIC site on Left arm. They started him on four different antbiotics. he then appeared to recover from this and off vent during this time his nasal GI tube was found to have gotten diplaced and so they tried to re-insert and in this process the dr. missed the esophagas and went into his right lung and puntured it he got a pnuemothorax then had a chest tube inserted, this seemed to weaken him significantly also he developed ICU psycosis wich they had to also treat with heavy duty anxiety meds. He also ended back on the vent and was transferred back to the ICU and he had a trach done for the vent, and once again he got a very high fever, they continued w/antibiotis and tried to get fever under control then they inserted a jejum tube into his stomach and the fever persisted until his blood pressure started to drop and they put him on meds to bring up and stabilize the pressure in the mean time he went into acute renal failure, it was touch and go for about 24/48 hours then he once again bounced back and finally started to improve in fact they moved hin to a regular floor all this time he is on antibiotics the fever finally boke and stayed down for few days then the decision was made becuz he was only C-PAP suppotive breathing, he was then transferred to the respiratory rehab hospital(2/15/07) where died after getting the pronosis of a 'full and complete recovery'. The official cause of death is ischemic coronary artery disease with ARDS & COPD as contributing factors. They did discover a blood clot in his left arm but the docs, decided that it was not causing any problems, a;though he had severe pain in the arm where he could not barely lift it or use it in any way. After being there for three days he started to become very congested again and running a fever. The did a sputum culture on 2/15 and it came back 4+mrsa saph infection in his lungs, and his INR were very high at 4.89. and all the while mrsa was never mentioned nor was his staph infection. until I received his pre-lim autopsy report with all this and never once was mrsa/staph mention nor was the INR mentioned to me. All I can say at this point is if you have a question or concern be firm and and do not let the medical people to intimindate you to not take any action or to be a constant pain if necessary. remember you are the patient's voice for the moment and they rely on you to help them. Thank You for listening and I hope this helps in the understanding of what could happen and how serious mrsa/staph infection relly is and I believe in can be fatal if not dealt with quickly and aggressively.
I just wanted to write and tell my story,I was diagnosed with MRSA back in 01'.It was first found in the wounds on my legs from the skin breakdown I had and I was treated with antibiotics and Later I was discharged from the hospital.Then this last year and a half have been nightmare for me.My skin broke down again and the infection came back(which was colonized) I was put on a woundvac and antibiotics again and two weeks later I ended up back in the hospital with the infection moving into my bloodstream and had to be hospitalized for 4 months,starting with all of the wonderful test,CT's,MRI's,X-rays and found a pack of liquid in my hip and had an operation to remove the infection and another operation because they found more of the infection in my back between L-4 and L-5,so the doc went in and cleaned it out and fused my back and put some hardware there and was released in January of this year and was back in the ER 8 days later with a temp. of 105 degrees,when my regular temp. is 96, from being a para.went through the same tests again and then had a new one where they drew blood and seperated my white cells and then mixed it with radioactive stuff and injected it back into me and the next day I went and had a scan done.The radio active cells litup the screen where the infection was at.And guess what, it was back in between L-4 an L-5,the docs said that the metal that was in my back acted like a magnet and the MRSA went right to the metal and attacked my back.I went through 4 operations within an 8 day period,They took out the hardware,left the incision site open and put a wound vac that went all the way to my spine,then they went back in and took out the rest of my metal from my back and the last one they took off the wound vac and sewed me shut.I had to go through 8 weeks of antibiotics.I am just hoping that they got it,My doc felt really good about it.cross my fingers
Does anyone know of the risks of MRSA or VRE in a COPD patient who is on a ventilator?
Do you think any of this has to do with the nursing shortage, complex patients and high case loads??????????????
My sister died in a nursinghome with 34 decubiti (bedsores). Her autopsy said her cause of death (she was on Hospice) was morphine intoxication, not a word about all the bedsores. However, in December I cleaned an open ulcer on her foot, the first of the bedsores, and I was hospitalized for "atypical pneumonia" and treated with Keflex. I am still short of breath and on oxygen at night, 6 months later...Her foot ulcer grew out serratia, MRSA, VRE..Then My husband's pacemaker incision came open, after 19 months and was removed. Supposedly they found a hair on the pacemaker lead,but the hospital "lost" the pacemaker once it went to the lab. It was a Vitatron pacemaker. The new one is Medtronic, replaced two weeks ago (6 weeks after the first was removed). Now that incision has opened up, it grew serratia, and the doctor thinks it is a lab error... put him on oral Cipro. Shouldn't he see an infection specialist and be on IV antibiotics? The hospital NEVER did a sputum specimen on me...
Cheryl in Fort Smith, Ar. Nursing home: LEGACY (Northport Healthcare) Hospital: Sparks.
Let's talk about the dirty places. Some nursing homes can't isolate residents becuase it "violates" their rights. While your parent, who has VRE, MRSA or C-Diff, who has dementia, reaches into their briefs, touch everything within reach, has now now infected my parent. Is it lack of cleasning techniques "not" being applied by staff or perhaps isolation is required by all facilities. So let us disconcern ourselves about the risks of infections rather than the risks of lawsuits. Now lets mention Doctors, nurses,aides, hand washing,glovesand infections in the same sentence as Nursing Homes as dirty places.
My husband went to the hospital 11 weeks ago (April 4) for by-pass surgery. The surgery went well and he was recovering nicely. Five days later he became confused and short of breath. He also started running a fever. He was put back in icu and placed on a vent. On April 15, tne doctor informs me that he has an infection and needs emergency surgery. After the surgery, I was told he had mrsa staphj infection in his breast bone. The wound was left open and a wound vac placed. On April 21st, his ventalator tube became kinked in the back of his throat and while they were trying to fix it, he coded. They were able to revive him. He had a collapsed lung because of a mucus plug. They said it was yeast from the antibiotics. A couple of days later, they realize that he is paralyzed from the waiste down. They have no clue as to why. Now he has a huge bedsore (about 6 inches in diameter and 3-4 in. deep). I was told today that the mrsa is in the bedsore, lungs and blood. He has a trach and has never left icu. 11 weeks!! the only reason he is still alive is because he is so strong-willed and so many people are praying for him. I really believe the hospital should take responsibilty for this. His insurance should not have to pay for their carelessness.
I'm a nurse in a pediatric practice and also work occasionally at a nursing care facility that houses both re-hab and long term care. I always keep a fresh set of scrubs in my vehicle if I'm called to go from one job to the other,although my personal preference is to go home and shower between jobs. At the office job, we spend hours every day disinfecting between patients and procedures. I'm lovingly referred to as the "germ boss" because I worked in surgery for 12 years, and they swear I can see the germs without a microscope. I routinely send parents and children back into the bathroom to wash their hands after bringing me all sorts of lovely specimens, then I clean the door handles (both sides) of the bathroom, and often have to clean the entire bathroom before going on to my next task. I like to think our office is marginally clean -- but realize that we are working with the great unknown (HUMANS). I have hugged, loved, consoled, and carried children/adults with all sorts of maladies, and credit my Creator with keeping me safe from harm as duty calls- but I also realize that that same Creator expects ME to do all that I can to limit my exposure to harmful things. I will hug, wipe tears, comfort the unwashed as I count headlice roaming freely in their scalp, and wash those little enough to fit in my sink if I get half the chance!
Thanks Dr. Moser for making me less a freak.
The Germ Boss
Dear Dr. Moser:
Unfortunately you have come across the worst places and believe they exsist out there with more frequency than the good ones. However, I am here to tell you that facilities who adhere to protocol when it comes to patients in isolation as well as washing there hands before and after each and every patient contact whether or not they are in isolation ARE OUT THERE! I am a nursing educator but I am also fortunate to work at such a facility. It takes a lot of effort on EVERYONES part. A lot of times it is difficult to get the visitors and families to adhere to policy when gowning and gloving up before going into an isolation room. "It is too hot!" "It takes too long!" - I have heard all kinds of excuses. We go to great lengths to make sure that our facility does not smell. As a matter of fact, I cannot tell you how often a visitor (who turns out to be someone looking for a facility) will come to the nursing station and tell me that they were doing a spot check on the weekend to see if things went as well on the weekend as they do during the week. They will then add "How in the world do you not have a urine smell?" They seem so surprised at the fact that the facility does not smell of urine! How sad is that!!!!
Our patient's/resident's (we are both long-term care and SNF) do not sit in hallways and dayrooms all slumped over. Our Activity Director goes to long lengths to make sure that there are activities going on all the time and she tries her best to vary them as best she can.
We are not perfect, however, I wanted you to know that there are facilities out there who do make patient care their priority. We enjoy our jobs. The way I look at it is if we treat patients as if they are our mom or dad (and most of the patients are just like our family) than we can't go wrong.
From a Nurse in Texas
Dear Dr. Moser
I'm not sure that this qualifies as a "comment" but I was wondering about where I might find more information specifically regarding MRSA? Is it known to "colonize" a specific region of the body? If you have been diagnosed with MRSA does that mean that you will ALWAYS be infected with it since staph is considered to be a bacteria found normally on people's skin? Also, if you have been diagnosed with CA-MRSA does that mean that you are more or less likely to transmit it to others via casual skin-to-skin contact? Can it be transmitted via the use of a computer keyboard or mouse that has been used by an infected person? How about a public toilet seat? Are children or elderly people more susceptible to transmission? How about gay men? HIV infected people? If someone is infected/colonized with CA-MRSA would they be considered a health risk to co-workers in a small to large-sized office setting where there is wide-spread contact via keyboards, computer mice, door handles, break-room supplies/untensils (cups, silverware, chairs, tabletops, etc.), chairs, telephones, copiers and other types of general office equipment.
Basically what I need is a lot of general information regarding CA-MRSA as well as some specific answers to questions like those above. If you can not answer these questions for me directly can you suggest a location where I might find these answers? Your help in these matters is greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
David
David:
Here is some general information about MRSA, including links to related information. If you're looking for more in-depth information than this, I'd suggest searching on our sister site, Medscape (free registration required).
Take care!
all theese comments are helping somewhat. My mother has been in hospital in ICU since July 31, 2007. She has been diagnosed with ITP and now since Friday, has VRE. How does this happen and are they related? She is not able to build Platelets, CBC down, Sodium Down and seems like they said something else is down as well. Yesterday she seemed really depressed, crying she wanted to go home, seemed really down. What can I do to make things better for her? Please any advice? Thanks, Pamela
I have recently started a new job in a residential care home and I am disgusted with the lack of cleanliness. There is no sluice room to clean comodes.The pan is rinsed in the sink for hand and face washing.Nobody wears gloves or aprons.The staff are lazy and the kitchen along with the utensils and equipment are old and filthy. Lots of other things are wrong and dirty with care home. I need this job what do I do?
My daughter who is 6 years old went to a local hospital with an absese on her left buttock, they lanced it open in the ER without wearing sterle gowns, they sent her home on Septra, and did not take a culture of the wound, two days later i took her to the doctor and they removed the packing, three days later i came home from work and she was laying on the couch very very sick with a temp of 104 I took her to a childrens hospital, as my peds doc told me to they told me it looked fine even though it was draining green pus and said we will culture it to be safe but we dont think we need to do anything about it and sent me home. One week after i had her there the school calls and says she is sick, i took her asap to Childrens Hospital in Cincinnati, OH voted 5 best hospital in the country and right away they admitted her for MRSA and Staph, while in the ER waiting though the other childrens hospital called to tell me they had the wrong doc listed to send her test results to and did not have my phone number on file and contacted my husband to tell him to get her to the hospital asap, my question is did my child get the MRSA because she was left so long with Staph that it turned to MRSA or is it possible she got it when they lanced it the first time. She has broken out several times since and they had a hard time with all the meds they used because everything that said was receptive did not work. She is home now on meds but she has little bumps on her. I am very concerned because she is only 6.
I am betting 100% that this super-bug they call MRSA is another one of those covert experimentation and then created by the infidels of the US government for biological warfare just like the HIV virus.
Newsflash: This superbug they call MRSA has been with us for so many years and I can't believe doctors here in America have not been able to figure out or find a way to kill it or at least find a way to prevent infection. Well, have no fear because Malprac is here. I have a remedy that i've recently discovered and it's very inexpensive. One you can perform at home.
First of all regular handwashing with soap and water is good but it doesn't really do the job. Recently I discovered that handwashing with cane vinegar or citric acid with a ph of below 4.0 is very promising and actually prevents the spread of infection. The solution can also be applied topically to boils or pimples and actually kills this superbug. It's gonna sting but the result is very promising.
They say I walk on water. Not!!!!
Malprac
July 2007 I developed a rash on my neck, face and chest that was very itchy, red, contained pusand looked like insect or spider bites. I went to my primary care doctor, and was told I had contact dermititis and was given the treatment for it. Now I am wondering if I actually had a MRSA skin infection!
I have VRE that i contracted in a hell-hole nursing home. I was in there twice and both times i ended up in the ICU. I've been in the ICU two other times besides that. One time it was for an infection from chemo.
The people in that nursing home are idiots. My doctor was going to remove my feeding tube but he had to transfer me to the hospital to do it surgically. Some of the clerks were in the room when he was talking about it because he was considering sending me home. One of them said "Sometimes those tubes just fall out." and winked at me.
I remember someone coming in my room sometime during the night and doing something with my I.V. The next morning a nurse came in to hook up my feeding and asked me where my tube was. it was gone.
They called my doctor and he came up to check on me. The same person that said they fall out sometimes said i probably pulled it out myself. roll eyes My doctor said that that would cause excruciating pain. Okay, if i'm doing something to myself and it's hurting, am i going to keep doing it? I don't think so!!! We think someone sedated me in the middle of the night and pulled it out. You could see that a piece was broken off.
My doctor sent me home and made an appointment to go to his office to have the rest removed, he said it would just be an outpatient procedure.
A few days later i was having excruciating pain in my side. I went to the ER and my doctor did an x-ray. He said there were broken pieces of the tube inside me. Whoever yanked it didn't even bother deflating the balloon that held it in place first.
I needed major surgery to remove the tube, mt doctor had stapled it inside. That's one of the times i went to ICU.
I also contracted MRSA while i was an inpatient. Thankfully i don't have any syptoms.
My 60-year-old brother died in a Virginia hospital in August of this year following a prolonged battle with hospital-acquired MRSA. The MRSA developed as a consequence of a Medtronics pacemaker implant procedure in the Spring of 2007. The hospital he was in, Commonwealth of Virginia in Richmond, says that they follow the CDC "hand-washing guidelines" and only do pre-screening for bypass and cardiac catheter procedures. Pacemaker implants are every bit as invasive as these procedures and yet they are not treated as such. Yet, my research reveals that staph aureus is a common infection resulting from pacemaker implantation and that a full 8% of these infections are MRSA infections leading to death. In addition, my brother had a long-term illness that severely compromised his immune system, and this was well-known to the hospital. Every precaution should have been taken to guard against his getting an infection and yet he developed it anyway. Of course, the lead was removed once the infection was diagnosed, but by then the damage had been done. MRSA is nearly impossible to treat as there are virtually no antibiotics that are effective against it. Most people develop chronic illnesses or die. The burden is on not only the CDC and Congress to issue regulations to the hospitals but also to the hospitals themselves, particularly the directors of epidemiology. Dr. Barry Farr of the University of Virginia in Charlotteville VA has been a pioneer in this area for years and has provided background information to the CDC and to Congress in the hearings they held today before the Committee for Oversight and Government Reform chaired by Henry Waxman. Dr. Farr's protocols have been published as drastically reducing the rate of MRSA in his hospital and yet a hospital in the same state of Virginia in which my brother contracted this illness does not follow Dr. Farr's guidelines. This is unacceptable. Furthermore, the hospitals are not yet required to report the incidence of infections although a handful of states have now passed legislation that will require them to do so in the future. Finally, there is no requirement that MRSA needs to be on the death certificate as the contributing cause of the septicemia that develops and ends in death. My brother's death certificate says that he died of Septicemia and gives the contributing factors as pneumonia and renal failure. Yet the pneumonia and renal failure developed as a result of his getting the MRSA infection. Unless the CDC and hospitals start doing something on their own someone needs to start a class-action suit in this country. There is a precedent in the U.K. set by a recent case of a woman who won a wrongful death suit on behalf of her mother. Yet in the U.S. you can Google all day and not find such a case here. The hospitals are getting away with murder, literally.
IF ANYONE IS DISGUSTED WITH THE CLEANLINESS OF THEIR LOVED ONES MEDICAL OR NURSING HOME STAYS,OR TO REPORT ABUSE, THERE IS A DEPT OF HEALTH IN YOUR AREA THAT CAN BE CALLED. THEY WILL COME AND INSPECT THE SITUATION THAT WAS REPORTED.HOSPITALS AND NURSING HOMES DO HAVE TO FOLLOW THE LAWS.I WORK IN A LONG TERM HEALTHCARE FACILITY. TO BE HONEST ,NONE OF THEM ARE 100% PERFECT. ONE THING OUR FACILITY HAS CEMENTED IN OUR STAFFS HEAD IS THE FACT OF WASHING YOUR HANDS AND WEARING OF THE GLOVES.TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS AND ALSO THEY AREN'T AS BAD AS SOME PEOPLE THINK. INVESTIGATE INTO THE ONES IN YOUR AREA. THERES WEBSITES THAT CONTAIN THEIR RATING S FOR THEIR ANNUAL DEPT OF HEALTH SURVEY. IT WILL ALSO TELL YOU THE CITATIONS THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED. CHECK IT OUT
Dear Dr Moser,
I had an accident,caused by one of
my co workers and landed on my back and arm, etc. I had been scheduled for fusion surgery after
many attempts to avoid surgery.
My mother broke her hip 10 days
after my fall and needed hip replacement.
She then chose the facility she had
been at several times previously
and was doing quite well.My sister
was here to assist due to me having
back surgery and Mom in the nursing
home. Well after several weeks my
sister returned home and was planning to return when Mom was
released to my home.
Mom began to feel badly, after the
air conditioner was off for several
days in her room and rehab the air
was also out.
I spoke with nurses and the Nurse
Practioner and they relayed to me
the red substance coming from her
nose was from oxygen use. I replied to them she had been on the
same dose of oxygen for some time
at home and no blood of signifance
now becoming orange sputum.
I asked them to check her and make
sure she wasn't developing pneumonia and they replied she would be fine.
10 days went by and finally they
listened to me and tested her
sputum and it was sent to a lab.
Mom became very ill and continuous
coughing and I had to visit her
even though I was told not to due
to my open back wound. What I found
was scarey.
The test results were scarey too
MRSA. I wasn't aware of it and
my youngest daughter is an RN for
hospice, and she explained to me.
Well needless to say I was on the
phone with a conference with her
health care providers, and they
assured me she was walking 25 feet
and doing fine. Not so quick I thought. My daughter came and got
me and we saw mom and she couldn't
even get into the wheel chair alone.
One comment made to the hospice,we
called in to assist us from the
nurse practioner was "well she isn't dying".
Let me tell you the horror I face
each and every day now. I had to
call 911 to get my mother out of
there and to the hospital. I was
beside myself and unable to get
around very well , recovering myself from surgery. I even had
her home health nurse visit her
in the hospital before this visit
to the nursing home, and she assured mom she would see her at
home soon, she looked great.
Mom was taken to the hospital from
my 911 call for her safety, she
was really in bad shape and no one
seemed a bit concerned, one nurse
already had the paper work ready
for me when I called 911. She new
mom from other visits and told me
she was really failing.
Thursday of that week her regular
doctor returned from vacation and
we met with her Friday morning and
she told me I had taken the best
care of anyone she ever saw and Mom
wasn't probably going to be with
us much longer. My sister and I
{she came back, I called my sister
and told her how grave things looked and she was so shocked,she
left and mom was great 2 wks later
very bad}. The doctor a wonderful
caring woman,said she wouldn't say
goodbye ,just letting mom know that
hospice was the best place now.
I had and have so much hatred for
those people who continuously ignored my mother and myself for
those 10 days. Mom was alergic to
cillins and other treatments for
MRSA and there wasn't anything now
that could be done.
She arrived at hospice and they
were surprised she was there , they explained to me after 2wks
they re evaluate each patient and
she may have to return to nursing
or home. This was Friday before
Easter and Saturday Mom went to
sleep and Monday early in the A.M.
she passed away. I cannot believe
no one but her doctor and myself
knew she was dying. Hospice was
so surprised. Let me tell you when
you are on 20 different meds and
they are taken from you ,you are
gone soon after. They treated my
mother with such respect and kindness , I am grateful to them for this and my daughter is an
angel and my other daughter in N.C
is a nurse with hospice too. A just
wonderful group of caring individuals and loving.
I will never rest until I get some
closure for my mom, she was and will always be my mentor and every
day she had something interesting
to say and everyone who knew her
loved her. She is so missed.
Please answer me if you can help
me understand why nursing facilities don't care, they charge
so much and must pay so little, some aids don't evern speek english
and cannot help the elderly, they
just walk away.Having to wear the
gloves ,mask and gown to touch my
mom was awful,and so cold. Moms last words to me were, Is this it!
These words haunt me now and I told
her we were trying to get her home
again, but I knew this would never
come to be. thank you for your
insite and information, I miss Mom
Joanne
I too have MRSA, and just recently ending up at Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Fl., with blood clots in both legs. I am 55, in good health, but did end up twice in a hospital in Ply., Ma. with MRSA after many pimple like boils were undiagnosed. Very sick, high fever, cankers, and diagnosed with mrsa. My recent blood clot diagnosis is related to MRSA; its called LgA; apparently MRSA, being a major infection, caused my red blood cells to form a sticky substance, that makes them clot, thinking they are fighting an immune infection. So beware of this possible side effect, and don't let any pain go untreated if you have MRSA.
God bless and good luck.
Hello my Name is Rose I work at a small Living center near my home, as a CNA. My Advice for Anyone looking to Place their loved one in long term care is: check out there latest goverment survay. It speaks wonders for or aganst the Place. The Nursing home I work for now has been Tag free for about six years now and I have to say it is the cleanest place I have ever work or been in. We have a very low percentage of infections that are recieved after the pt. comes into our care. Are most common infection is UTI's, but our average is still not as high as the average for nursing homes. Which you have to relize that one of the main cause of a UTI is dehydration. You can incourage fluid every two hours but you can make someone drink. I now personaly as a CNA I try my very hardest to take care of everyone to the best of my ability and do EVERYTHING that I can to Keep my Pt.'s Healthy, And I know alot of others that do the same. I know that it's a very stressfull to have to put you mom or dad, or grandparent, or sister or brother into long term care but Relize that there are many out there that really care.
It is a sad situation our elderly have found themselves in. I have worked for NHC Healthcare in one of their long term facilities for 8 years. The residents do not get the care they pay for, we are very often short staffed which we are not allowed to reveal to residents or the families of those residents. As a healthcare worker I try to give those under my care the best care I can. However, when you look at the patient ratio to staff, I am usually handling 20-35 residents per 12 hour shift. I wish I had an answer for the problem. State officials only show up when our staffing is narrowly acceptable and calling them is a joke. The industry should police itself but the bottom line is the MONEY!!!
NHC Healthcare
Oak Ridge,TN
I have MRSA. We all have MRSA growing in our noses. MRSA has been around for a very long time and I'm surprised only now it is getting so much attention. Here's a scary fact: there is a worse infection called VRE which is resistant to the antibiotic that kills MRSA. Oh, and don't forget that if you take too much antibiotic (because everyone just has to have one for the flu or common cold, which, by the way, antibiotics do not treat) you can get C-Diff... in addition to building up a resistance to the antibiotic. And let's face it, the family members that complain the most probably do not have good hand-washing techniques, if any. If families or visitors contract a disease from a health care facility, they probably used a patient bathroom, which they are not supposed to for infection control purposes. Just think of the viruses, bacteria, and yeast that are on shopping carts, in public bathrooms, or even on money. Do any of you scrub your hands after paying cash or after walking around a store? I doubt it. It's just easier to blame a medical facility than admit to one's own hygeine deficits. If you don't like the care in nursing homes, assisted care or hospitals, do not go to them. Go to a clinic or have a nurse come to your house. Have your loved one stay home with you and you provide the 24 hour care s/he needs. That way, s/he can have the 1:1 care you think s/he should get and be free from germs.
A am a health care professional in a long term care facility and I do understand where the concern is but what a lot of people don't understand is there is an abundunt supply of nursing homes that are absolutely wonderful. About 2 years ago I became a concerned family member as I had to place my grandfather in a facility for rehab. Yes there are many nursing facilities that do make me concerned for the patients' well- being but if a person does a little looking around he would notice there are many facilities out there that are totally great. As for the existing "dirty places", I feel that is the administration's problem. I know staffing is terrible which results in the employees "just doing the best they can" which I know is unacceptable. I soley beleive that if the state would have a tighter reign on the staffing issues and regulate the patient-caregiver ratio, you would see that the results would be astounding in the improvement of care in these places.
VRE killed my mom in 2007. Doctors refused to give her anti-biotics because she was so old. When she had two weeks left to live, a home hospice Doctor finally listened to my plea and perscribed Doxycycline--she came out of the dementia/trance she had been for a year. We had two weeks left to communicate--her organs had already failed. Mary Rene
K. SMITH
I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL IN 2001 AFTER A CAR ACCIDENT FOR 3 WEEKS AND AFTER WENT TO REHAB FOR 10 DAYS. I HAD A CAST ON MY RIGHT ANKLE AND ONE ON MY LEFT ARM WITH AN IV IN THE LEFT ARM. I COULDN'T GO TO THE BATHROOM ALONE SO THEY BROUGHT A PORTA POTTY TO MY ROOM. I USED IT A COUPLE OF TIMES BEFORE MY COUSIN (AN RN) CAME TO SEE ME. SHE SAID DID ANYONE CLEAN THIS IN HERE? I REPLIED NO. THERE WERE TRACES OF URINE AND FECES THAT I COULDN'T SEE. I RANG FOR THE NURSE AND SHE REFUSED TO CLEAN IT OFF AND OFFERED MY COUSIN WEXSTAPH AND SHE CLEANED IT. I NEVER KNEW WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME UNTIL I READ THESE COMMENTS. IF I HAD KNOWN BEFORE I WOULD'VE HIRED AN ATTORNEY TO SUE THEM. THERE WAS PLENTY OF STAFF; THEY WERE JUST LAZY. WHEN I TOLD THE DOCTOR HE SAID DON'T SAY ANYTHING WE ALREADY HAVE A NURSING SHORTAGE. I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I JUST MADE AN APPOINTMENT TO GO AND SEE MY DOCTOR. THE REALLY BAD THING IS THAT I THINK I GAVE IT TO MY GRANDSON. HE HAS EAR INFECTIONS ALL THE TIME AND HAS A HARD TIME GETTING RID OF THEM.
My son had a what he thought spider bite on his left elbow. It ended up swelling with pain shooting down his arm a red mark at the site of (the spider bite). He went to the local hospital they said it was just a bug bite, gave him and antibiotic sent him home. One week later his arm swelled up bad. We talked him into going to another hospital. They didn't do any tests either but did give him a different antibiotic with a follow up to his family doctor. He did go to his doctor and she told him it looked like MRSA lanced the boil, sent the specimen to the lab it came back as MRSA. Now 1 week later he's running a low grade temp. feels like he's got the flu. Does MRSA have any long term effects? How long does it stay in a persons system? Thanks The Mom
My son was recently diagnosed with Mrsa, he had a large boil on his thigh, they dreained it at the hospital, but him on Bactrim, and the boil is clearing up. The problem is, me and my son who is 22 lives with my parents, they are 61 and 64, because of their limited income we stay here to help out. Recently , in the last few weeks, me and my mother has little small red bumps on the backs of our necks, that itch to high heaven. No puss or anything like that, just a few small red bumps on the backs of our necks, and our heads have been itching like crazy, we've had our heads checked, thinking it might be lice or something easy like that to get rid of , now I'm wondering if it could be mrsa related...does anyone know? Very worried, my father has some lung problems and I am looking the net over to find good home remedies for cleaning and sanitizing to try and keep him from spreading it to them or me...any information would be greatly appreciated
I have been working in a nursing home for 8 months. Based on my knowledge of being there so far. Most people that have been in a hospital for a while do have a chance of getting something they never had before. You see before a room with two people had the samething. But now the hospitals are mixing up things. One person can have C-DIFF and their roomate can have MRSA. Creating a bad enviroment in that room. I know some people that get UTI's, take medication for it and happen to get C-DIFF. Also lack of cleaning the beds and filling the bed up soon as the patient left the room. Giving housekeeping little time to clean. Every little virus, cancer, bacteria, disease and etc. lives already in your body. I believe that the lifestyle people live can trigger one of the bugs. Each nurse and doctor will have an opinion. That's why you really got to communicate with them. Always get a second opinion from a doctor. When they start using medical terminology, ask them to explain it to you for better understanding. Ask them to speak your type of language. Also tell them all the signs and symptoms you're experiencing, not just some of it, all of it. If you're not telling doctors everything that they need to know, malpractice and misdiagnosed or mistreated. I believe good communication will help in the long run for the medical staff. Also practice good hygiene. Also teach your children.
Believe or not people MRSA lives in dark places, like your nose.
Okay, I notice alot of these comments are about MRSA. And alot of you have questions about it or what will happen. MRSA is also known as Multidrug Resistant Organism, can resist the effects of antibiotics. Some microbes can change their structures. This makes them more difficult to kill. They can survive in the presence of antibiotics. Therefore the infections they cause are hard to treat. Multidrug Resistant Organisms (MDRO's) are caused by doctors prescribing antibiotics when they are not needed (over-prescribing). There are 2 common types of MDRO's that resist to many antibiotics. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is normally found in the nose and on the skin. It can cause serious wound infections and pneumonia. Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) is normally found in the intestines and in feces. It can be transmitted to others by contaminated hands, toilet seats, care equipment, and other items that hands touch. When not in its natural site (the intestines), it can cause an infection. It can cause uro (urinary tract), wound, pelvic, and other infections. If you know someone who has these things, you need to use precaution just like the medical staff does. Glove up when you touch them, mask up if they have respiratory MRSA.
I saw a comment about her family and her father coughing. If you're worried about it, then he should see his doctor. Just because someone coughs doesn't mean they have MRSA. You're doing good by keeping the house clean. But you can get something by walking by a person who coughs near you in a supermarket. You remember TB? It's still around. Having a TB test also is good. You don't have to be a health care worker to have done.
Everyone is blamming hospitals, nursing homes and medical staff. I think we need to blame ourselves too. Cause we're the reason why things are spread. I've seen people sneeze and not cover their mouth and nose when they do. Causing droplets and airborne. And seen people cough in your face without covering. We're all part of the reason why things go around.
My father died back in Dec. and I have to tell someone about this. He went in for a "routine 5 bypass heart surgery" The doctor fixed his heart and it was working better then it had before. He was due to come home a week later but the day before he was due to come home the hospital calls us and tells us that our father turned for the worst. They claim that his kidneys failed overnight. The nursing staff was to monitor his input and output but they didn't which caused a hole in his colon. Then he got VRE, we had to wear the gowns and gloves and wash before leaving the room..but the doctors and nurses didn't wear the protective gear. Then he got staff infection from his bed sore "he got the bed sore because they didn't turn him" then he got a blood posioning. Each time I went to see him I had to give him a scrub bath and make him clean. I complained everyday about it and no one would listen to me. Then on Dec. 14th he died. The death certificate states that he died from sepis and some kind of blood diease. Nothing about VRE. Now I have contacted lawyers but because it is a major hospital in my state no one wants to take our case. I know that we have a really good case and we would win but since it is the main major hospital they are scared.
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