Bill would help hospitals curb staph strain
3/27/09 | 4 comments
health

Bill would help hospitals curb staph strain


By Meg Haskell
BDN Staff

The Maine State Nurses Association and others in Maine are hoping to rein in the incidence of a potentially lethal hospital-acquired infection, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.

A bill pending before the Health and Human Services Committee would require hospitals to screen all high-risk patients before admitting them; to treat aggressively any identified infections; to adopt stringent policies regarding isolating patients with MRSA; to notify staff, other patients and former patients who may have had contact with MRSA-infected individuals; and to maintain records of identified cases and report them to the state.

Its resistance to methicillin and other broadly effective antibiotics is what makes MRSA so deadly. Unchecked, it can progress rapidly as a superficial skin infection, a wound infection or pneumonia. It most often is spread from patient to patient by hospital staff or by contact with contaminated equipment or supplies.

According to a recent study cited by the nursing association, Maine ranked fourth-highest in the nation for MRSA. Hospitals acknowledge the problem is serious and growing, but question whether the provisions included in the bill would be effective at reducing the incidence. Efforts already are under way to curb MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections.

Kathy Day, a registered nurse whose 83-year-old father died in January after contracting MRSA pneumonia in an area hospital, said Thursday that a number of other states have adopted aggressive policies toward reducing the incidence of MRSA in their hospitals. Her father was hospitalized for a fractured ankle, was discharged on schedule and progressing well at home, Day said, when he collapsed and had to be readmitted with the MRSA pneumonia diagnosis. He spent 20 days in the hospital and nine weeks in a nursing home before he succumbed to the infection, Day said Thursday.

“Reducing the MRSA infection would end needless suffering and death for Maine patients,” nurse Deb Bumbaugh, vice president of the Maine State Nurses Association, said in a statement prepared for a State House press conference.

Mary Mayhew of the Maine Hospital Association said Thursday that hospitals already are engaged in “an incredible statewide effort” to reduce MRSA rates, working in coalition with the Maine Quality Forum and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Mayhew said the group is being guided by the recommendations of the national CDC regarding infection control, and said there is no scientific evidence to support the idea that publicly reporting the incidence of hospital-acquired MRSA rates would help decrease the occurrence.

A public hearing on LD 1038, which is sponsored by Rep. Adam Goode, D-Bangor, is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in Room 209 of the Cross State Office Building.

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Comments
4 comments on this item
On 3/27/09 at 4:24 PM, CarolM wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maine was a leader in the nation when it passed a law to screen all newborns for metabolic disorders. My daughter’s life was saved because one man had a dream of making all newborns safe from harmful diseases. People had the courage to step up and do what was right, way back then.

My sister-in-law, Kathy Day, is one of those people with a dream to see that Maine hospitals are safer for everyone. I call on our Senators and Representatives to step up, like their predecessors, and do what is right, now and pass the MRSA legislation, LD 1038.

If hospitals are already engaged in “an incredible statewide effort,” then passing this legislation should be a “no-brainer.” After all, one person’s dream CAN become reality. One person CAN make the difference in the lives of many. One person CAN save another. My daughter is living proof.

I am so proud of my sister-in-law and applaud her for having the courage to fight for what is right. If anyone could have seen my father-in-law suffer from MRSA, you would know the depth of our pain, and why she fights so hard.

Please call your Senators and Representatives and tell them to step up, do what is right, and pass the MRSA legislation, LD 1038.

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On 3/27/09 at 7:05 PM, PabMainer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

philcyr...It sounds like you had a very unfortunate tme with this "superbug" which MRSA is classified as....read back over the story and realize that in some the outcome is not as favorable as noted with the death of the nurse's father... A fracture where the skin is not broken is termed a "closed" fracture as opposed to an "open" fx where the broken bone comes out thru the skin..If your situation required surgery and rodding then calling it a "simple" fracture does not describe it effectively....how and when you contacted the bug and from whom probably could never be determined.. Could have been a staff member, visitor or family, on subsequent follow up visits, during dressing changes, etc...many people are carriers and that is why we see all around us signs and adds about good hand hygiene, but especially around a wound like you had from this surgery... I hope you are doing well and hopefully the occurances of this and other potential superbugs can be reduced and eliminated...

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On 3/27/09 at 7:33 PM, kday49 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I am so happy to have my beautiful niece healthy and happy. The first comment here is from my sister in law. She expressed my goals completely. I want to help hospitals to save lives and save people from suffering the same way my father did. MRSA can effect skin, bones, hearts, blood, lungs, ..essentially any part of the body. It can be carried to a vulnerable patient by contaminated hands, instruments or even a doctors dirty tie. It can also be picked up from an contaminated environment. Most importantly, it can kill.

All of these risks are addressed in my proposal for MRSA prevention in the State of Maine. The second person to comment here states he caught MRSa after surgery on a fracture. Many times, a patient has MRSA in the nose and is totally unaware of that. But if there is a need for surgery and an opportunity for the MRSA to spread into and inside the body through a surgical site, it can and will. A simple MRSA screening culture of the nostrils will find mrsa colonization.There is a simple process called decolonization that can be used prior to surgery or other invasive procedures that can eliminate the MRSA growing in or on the patient. It is usually matter of using an antibiotic cream in the nose and taking daily baths with an antiseptic soap.

All of what I propose is simple and much of it is recommended by CDC and SHEA (Society of Healthcare Epidemiology Association). In fact the recommendations have been available for years for exactly the preventative steps I have proposed for Maine, but not many have paid much attention. If given a choice of over 1200 recommendations in tons of pages for MRSA prevention and control (CDC guidelines), I can see why it would be very difficult for hospitals to choose the best things for a policy, or maybe it would be easier not to pick any. Some of Maine's hospitals do a fine job with MRSA prvention. Is it fair though that my Dad's small hospital did NO SCREENING(regardless of a known problem with MRSA infections) , but Maine Medical Center has a very sophisticated MRSA policy. NO IT IS NOT! All of us, no matter where we live should have the same level of safety in our hospitals...NORTH SOUTH EAST OR WEST.

All hospital should have the same level of safety and MRSa preventative measures in place for all Maine patients. Please support LD 1308 by calling your Senators and Representatives. It is long overdue and it will help to save lives.

Philcyr if you are interested, I would love to talk with you about your MRSA experience. You (or any other victim of MRSA or their famlies) may contact me at Mammy1111@aol.com or through my webpage http://mcclearymrsaprevention.com/

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On 3/27/09 at 7:42 PM, PabMainer wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

carolM and kday49...great posts and thanks for the info...will definately support all efforts for this much important endeavor....

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