McCleary MRSA Prevention

Louie, Full time entertainment, PRN therapy dog

Louie is our 13  year old dog.  We love him unconditionally.  Mike, my husband is dedicated to him, even more than he is to me!   He walks him faithfully every single day, no matter the weather.  Louie knows this, and he communicates his needs to Mike with gestures and sounds.  It is so funny to listen to him when he is “telling” Mike what to do.

A new family member is coming today.  My son Brian is getting a puppy.  He is a tiny black hairy creature, a baby French Bulldog.   Oh my God, my heart is melting and I haven’t even met Rocky.  This photo was taken not long after Brian got him.  What is it about puppies?

I have read about the effect of dogs and puppies on humans.  Elderly nursing home patients who don’t respond to anything else will respond to dogs and cats.  Some dogs are trained to detect seizures,  guide the blind or do simple tasks for the handicapped.  Babies smile and grab for dogs when they see them.  Me?  I just melt.  I can’t understand people who don’t like dogs.  What the heck is wrong with them.

Dogs are a comfort to us fragile humans.  They don’t ask for much…just shelter, food, exercise and love.  They  stay by our sides when we are sick or sad, and they  entertain us tirelessly.  They are the most faithful of friends, no matter what.  Even dogs that are abused stay faithful to their owners.  That makes me sad.  They should just bite the abusive owners…it would be totally justified.

Louie has sat with me while I have healed from sickness or surgery.  He warms my lap in the nicest way.  He is getting very old, and moves slowly, a with a hitch in his stride.  Arthritis and congenital defects in his elbows make it harder for him to walk far or to play for very long. He grunts and groans when we pick him up, from pain we suppose.  When I think of losing him it breaks my heart.  So, I hold him close, let him sit on me in the car even if I am wearing black, talk to him, and value every minute he is with us.  At 13 years of age, the old fella doesn’t have too much time left.

Dogs will always be in my life, one way or the other.  Housebreaking a puppy isn’t high on my list of priorities right now, but we will certainly welcome Rocky, the new little grand dog, and he will be our guest often.  Mike will want to walk him too, and we will try to do that regularly.  He will be a contrast to Louie in every way….color, energy level, communicating etc.

You can’t beat the love of a faithful dog..no you can’t!

PS…I already taught Rocky Sit/Down/Stay!

What’s different now?  How are we doing?  Have we made progress in Patient Safety?

Its hard to tell. I don’t have sophisticated ways to measure the results of my work.  There is a difference though.  I am received differently than I was 7 years ago.   It will actually be 8 years ago this fall that Dad became infected with MRSA while rehabilitating in his small community hospital.

When I busted onto the scene in 2009 in Augusta Maine to fight for MRSA screening and isolation of patients who are being admitted to Maine Hospitals, I had to get my feet under me.  I didn’t know how politickin’ was done.  I didn’t “know” people.  I was an obscure grandmother, wife, mother, daughter.  I hadn’t worked in nursing for quite a while.  What I did know is that what happened to my father should never, ever happen to anyone.  With that knowledge, and powerful passion fueled by grief, I forged my way.

There was sympathy, and understanding, but there was inconceivable push back.  The greatest push back came from the Maine Hospital Association, their members and even some healthcare professional groups!  That was astounding to me.  I thought we would all be on the same side…the side of the patients.  We all want safe care, don’t we?  Well they want it, but they don’t want it to COST anything.  Cheap or free MRSA prevention would be good for them.  They also wanted it without looking bad for causing infections.   This means that my work could go on  if I didn’t tarnish the polished image of hospitals.  REALLY?

The push back did not deter me. I forged ahead and I still do.

I just got back from the CDC in Atlanta, GA.  This was my third trip.  My first trip in 2010 blew me away.  I was a bit intimidated, because the CDC wrote the bible of infection prevention and that was part of my job as an employee health nurse.  In fact, I was pretty nervous when I called there for expert advice, as a working nurse.  To be a guest there, as part of a larger group of healthcare consumers/patients was a little overwhelming.  I spoke out, but not with a lot of conviction or confidence.  The second time was better.  THIS time…watch out!   I had no qualms about speaking up, and often.  I BELONG there.  My colleagues, each and every one of them affected by healthcare harm related to infections, or medications, were all equally confident, informed and eloquent in their comments, questions and ideas.

The CDC staff that organized our meeting knew exactly what they were doing.  We met on the premise that this would be a discussion.  None of us were rushed through our introductions or our stories.  We each had equal opportunities to offer questions, solutions, and ideas.  Top leadership, including Dr Thomas Frieden, Director of the CDC,  introduced themselves, and briefly talked about their work and programs, and then we talked.  We had a real exchange.

Fresh new ideas around Sepsis, HAI prevention and treatment, Multi drug resistant organisms, Antibiotic use and stewardship, Death Records reform and so many more very important issues in Patient Safety were covered.  I learned so much, but I also brought the nursing perspective.  Programs, mandates, policies and recommendations are essential, but without proper bedside staffing levels in all healthcare settings, they will not work.   We will not get to ZERO infections without adequate  nurse staffing.

There were no commitments made during our meeting, and I do understand that it is not that simple.  But, tons of notes were taken during our conversations.  We also populated large idea boards on the wall.  I look forward to the compilation of all of this material.

Before the meetings, 4 other amazing colleagues were photographed and videotaped for the CDCs blog and other use.  While we waited our turns, a random CDC employee came by asking what we were doing there.  When we told him he said  “oh ya, I had a surgical infection and sepsis too!”  then he shared his story.  This happens everywhere we are.  Everybody has a tragic infection story about themselves, a loved one or a good friend.  We want those stories to go away…we don’t want everyone to have an infection story.

I am grateful for the opportunity to visit the CDC and I look forward to working with them more in the future.

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/05/07/mainers-call-for-more-data-to-help-prevent-medical-errors/

This morning the Portland Press Herald had this article on the front page.  The  high numbers of vulnerable sick and injured patients who die not because of their illness, but because of preventable harm is just not acceptable.  It makes me crazy that  1/4 to 1/2 million people die unnecessarily every year in the US.   Dad died in 2009, after his hospital infected him with MRSA, but he was not counted in any of the voluminous data that I read.   He suffered a great deal and died within several weeks of the infection.

I have worked, as a volunteer, in Maine and nationally since Dad’s death, to help stop this epidemic of needless deaths.  Just last week, on May 4, there was a Patient Safety conference in Augusta Maine sponsored by the Maine Sentinel events team.  I asked several times for the agenda and details for this event, so I could register and attend.  None were sent.  Then I was told that there was such an overwhelming response to this event that it was “sold out”. I could only attend if there was a cancellation.  There were no cancellations.   I was very disappointed because the patient’s voice is essential to any discussions about them or about Patient Safety.  So I asked again for an agenda so I could advise the organizers about where it would be good for them to include the patient’s voice.  None was received.   Since I got nowhere with this, I wrote to the Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Resources of Maine, and expressed my disappointment that the State would have such a conference without inclusion of the patient’s voice.  I would be very surprised, but pleased to hear back from our Commissioner.

Coincidentally, on May 4, the very day that I was excluded from a Maine Patient Safety conference that was held about an hour away from my home, a reporter from the Portland Press Herald called me because of a recent report from Dr Marty Makary, of Johns Hopkins, that healthcare harm is the third leading cause of death.  This was not news to me, but I was certainly happy to have the opportunity to talk with this bright reporter.  He also sent a photographer to my home and this became a front page article on May 7, today.  I am very grateful to this reporter and his newspaper for recognizing the importance of awareness on this issue.

We all know the old saying “there is more than one way to skin a cat”.   Well apparently, there is more than one way to get the  word out on Medical errors and preventable healthcare harm. I missed the opportunity to bring the patient’s voice to the Patient Safety conference in Augusta, but my voice was shared with thousands of others on the front page of the Portland Press Herald this morning.  Although this is an unpleasant and for some an unpopular subject, all of us, as a society must talk about this openly and often,  and demand better.