McCleary MRSA Prevention

My proposal to help Maine citizens and Hospitals to prevent unnecessary Hospital Acquired Infections is finally printed into a draft for a bill.  Adam Goode will present this LD this week to Senators and Representatives and he will work to gain momentum and support for this bill in the legislature.  We have several known supporters and cosponsors but we know we will gain many  more. 

My proposal is to mandate and standardize Maine hospital’s approach to MRSA prevention.  Every hospital in Maine has a different infection control policy regarding MRSA.  Some are more effective than others and some are essentially useless.  No matter what hospital a Maine citizen uses, the MRSA preventative measures should be the same and effective.  We should be able to have the same confidence in any of our state’s hospitals when it comes to MRSA prevention.

I propose 1) SCREENING of all high risk patients being admitted to hospitals, 2) ISOLATION OR COHORTING of patients with positive MRSA cultures, 3) EARLY, STRICT AND APPROPRIATE PRECAUTIONS FOR MRSApatients, 4) EFFECTIVE AND THOROUGH CLEANING OF ROOMS THAT HAVE HOUSED MRSA PATIENTS, and 5)NO DESCRIMINATION against patients with known MRSA who are seeking medical care in a hospital or nursing home.

My father has been gone for almost 2 months now.  He died because of a hospital acquired MRSA pneumonia that his old body could not fight.  He suffered a great deal and he died on January 9 this year.  I believe in my heart that if his hospital had done MRSA screening and the appropriate subsequent steps for the prevention of MRSA, and appropriate cleaning, my father would be alive today. 

Hospital Acquired MRSA infections are preventable.  In a recent study, Maine was shown to have the 4t highest rate of hospital acquired MRSA infections in the United States.  The cost in lives lost, disability and hospital expenses far outweighs the cost of an effective MRSA prevention program in the State of Maine.

Please contact your State Representatives and Senators and tell them you want our Hospitals to be safe and clear of MRSA.  Support LD 1038.