McCleary MRSA Prevention

It’s wonderful to know that the CDC, homeland security and state health services can pull together and react to the very real possiblility of a pandemic of swine flu. Antiviral medicines are being shipped to the State of Maine as we speak. It’s only been a week or so since …was it 7 or 8 students in NY and a few others in California had contracted mild cases of Swine flu. All hell broke loose. We have seen doctors, nurses, the director of homeland security, the PRESIDENT, CDC representative etc all on TV talking about the flu. And of course EVERYBODY is talking about HANDWASHING!
So, I have to wonder why nobody from CDC, homeland security, state health services, Customs and Border protection, the President, Governors, doctors, nurses and other health officials NEVER address the 18,000 deaths caused by MRSA in 2006 and the many more thousands since then. NEVER, I have never heard it addressed in the news. I only learned of it while doing research. 18,000 is more deaths than AIDs/HIV, more than breast cancer and more than motor vehicle accidents. Yet, no big wigs have addressed it. And there hasn’t been one organized approach mandated to stop these horrible infections that attack us while we or our family members lie vulnerable in hospitals. I even saw Dr Salvatore the infectious disease doctor from Maine Medical Center on TV this morning speaking about Swine flu. He is the very same doctor who spoke out in strong opposition to my MRSA prevention bill,Maine LD 1038 and spoke of an upcoming vaccination for MRSA. Well a vaccine is a long way down the pike and we have to do something NOW about MRSA.

I think I know why there isn’t a huge alert out there about MRSA or C Diff or VRE or any other Hospital acquired infections. The answer is the last three words of the last sentence. They are acquired in the hospital. Citizens are not afraid to address Community Acquired MRSA. Schools and nursery schools have closed because of MRSA infections in their places. I have never heard of a hospital or even a hospital floor being closed because of MRSA infections, and believe me, there are plenty of outbreaks and deaths and disabilities because of these infections. But hospitals are not closed, and floors of hospitals aren’t closed, nor are they held responsible for the infections, nor do they report the infections to anybody, nor do they develop new strategies to stop the infections. They just bury their heads in the sand, fail to disclose the infections (in many cases) to the victims and families, and pretend it isn’t there…….well, until the NEXT infection. Until the next poor soul who’s knee joint fills up with MRSA pus, or the next person who can’t control their diarrhea from C Diff, or the next old person who develops MRSA pneumonia and dies, like my father did. Hospitals have remained untouchable when it comes to these infections. Believe it or not, hospitals are sometimes wrong. In Maine, they have been wrong about hospital acquired infections.
No, these hospital acquired infections don’t make the news, not much anyway. Then if they do, doctors, hospital officials and others who don’t want to face the music, downplay the stories and say there is way too much media hoopla over these infections. Hospitals and hospital officials,associations and doctors do NOT want exposure (no pun intended) of these infections.
Well, it seems that there is a lot of hoopla over several dozen mild cases of Swine Flu. It’s like a national disaster has struck. Unfortunately, there have been deaths in Mexico, but none here in the US.
Well, let me announce that there have been thousands upon thousands of deaths because of infections that patients are catching IN HOSPITALS. It is time the word was out there and the CDC, Federal government, State governments, doctors, nurses, Governors and THE PRESIDENT dealt with the reality of big numbers of deaths and disability because of infections people are catching in their modern hospitals. It is a disgrace and it is unnecessary. It is time to fight these infections. Investments in prevention need to be made and new precautions and practices need to be developed.
Wake up America. There is already a lot of deadly infection in this country and it comes out of hospitals. The threat isn’t your neighbor or your friend with Swine flu….it is your health care facility and the danger of infections spreading there.
I’d love to be able to make a living by going on TV and telling people they can avoid an illness by washing their hands and coughing into their elbow. My mother never made money teaching me that when I was a child but those experts are banking on it. It’s important, I know, to prevent the spread of flu. But, the experts aren’t really dealing with the tough horrible illnesses, like MRSA, C DIFF and VRE, now are they?

Handwashing is very important in the prevention of hospital acquired infections, to include MRSA. But, it is not the silver bullet for prevention. Even if it was, only about 40% of health care givers are compliant. I see two problems with this. The first one is noncompliance should not ever be a problem or an issue. It is time, with the current rising numbers of HA infections to mandate compliance or dish out some sort of punishment. It is one of the simplest, most basic methods of infection control there is. My parents taught me the basics of handwashing when I was just a toddler. It simply should not be tolerated if nurses, doctors, techs, and other Health care workers do not wash their hands between patient contacts. It is just plain ignorant. Fine them, reprimand them and if that doesn’t work FIRE THEM! Remember, I am a nurse and I am saying this. Dirty hands are now like a loaded gun. The germs dirty hands can carry are lethal and deadly and we cannot tolerate dirty hands.
Next, although handwashing is paramount in infection control, it is not enough. CDC and most hospitals have been hanging their infection control hats on handwashing alone for too many years. MRSA spreads to patients on contaminated hands (number one method of transfer), on contaminated clothing, on environmental objects, in the air if a patient who has respiratory MRSA coughs within 4 feet of you, and on medical instruments. An unclean stethescope can bring MRSA to you. As can a nurses hair dangling over you while he/she changes your “sterile” dressing, or puts in an IV or catheter.
I saw a sneezing ,coughing nurse (with no mask) caring for Dad while he suffered from MRSA pneumonia. If he hadn’t already been sick with MRSA, maybe she could have given it to him. I saw a nurse pick somthing sticky off the bottom of her shoe and then without washing her hands, attend to my mother after her recent surgery. I saw a nurse drop a blanket to the floor and then pick it up and turn it over for my mother to sit on. I saw a bed moved from the ICU in Dad’s hospital and put in the place of Dad’s after he was moved into ICU. They did this without first cleaning the space Dad had been in. No wonder they have a problem with MRSA in that hospital.
So, handwashing is good and necessary. But, Isolating infected patients, using handwashing AND the appropriate precations with gloves, gowns and masks, and decontamination of the patients surroundings and equipment is what is necessary each and every time to prevent spreading germs such as MRSA.
Other important things are…HCWs should not be wearing hair that hangs over her shoulders and around her face when she is caring for patients. The old nuns at my nursing school were very strict about that and they were right. “Hair off the collar girls”……I can hear the nuns now. We caught the wrath of those nuns if we had dirty shoe laces!
Sterile fields for dressing changes, IV insertions, and urinary catheters are a must. Caregivers should not be allowed to have fake or long painted nails, numerous clunky rings, dangling jewelry , or exposed bellies and upper derrieres with exposed ‘crackage’(belly shirts and hip huggers anyone?). Sick nurses with coughing and sneezing should not be caring for vulnerable patients. If it is absolutly necessary, they should wear a mask during each patient contact along with the other necessary barriers and strict hand washing.
So, yes, wash your hands before touching me or my vulnerable family members. And encourage and remind me to wash my hands too. If I am a patient and I wash my hands regularly, there is less contamination of my immediate environment and any contamination that might be brought to me can be washed away.
I am a tolerant and pretty understanding person. But I will never understand why so many educated nurses, doctors, and othe HCWs find it so difficult to grasp the importance of precautions, asepsis and cleanliness. Please if any of you ever take care of me, at least wash your hands and wear clean clothes every day. Skip the ties and fake nails and keep me safe.

On Tuesday, April 7, my family, friends, nurses, senators and representatives, Union officials, and others testified before the Maine Health and Human SErvices committee. My testimony was allowed in full even though it was very long. Generally there is a 3 minute limit. I took 20 minutes. I needed to be heard. My 13 year old nephew made us all incredibly proud when he stood before the daunting group of committee members at a podium with a microphone and read his testimony. It was against the rules of decorum (no reactions to testimony) but everybody applauded and/or cried when he spoke of his Grampy.
But of course there was opposition. Some of it was reasonable and some of it was just plain stupid, but everybody gets their say. So, we left feeling very confident that our bill would pass.
On April 9, we went back for work sessions. Vanessa Sylvester of Maine State Nurses Association handled the communications between the Maine Hospital association, and the Maine Health Quality forum and me. The communication was fast and quick and we lost out on most of the bill, but we did get Mandated High Risk screening in the State of Maine passed with a unanimous vote from the committee. This is not criticism of Vanessa. She was in a tough spot and worked very hard. Other very valuable pieces of my legislation got lost or transferred over to the other bill that originally was just for reporting of MRSA and C Diff.
My bill was comprehensive and all inclusive. It addressed the most effective approach to MRSA prevention which is Active detection and Isolation. The componants of a good plan are Mandatory screening, Isolation or cohorting, Precautions and decolonization. I got the screening. MSNA and a “consumer” (that’s me) got seats on the MQF committee. We were given until Oct 1 to come up with a solid effective plan for MRSA prevention. This is fine. I will collaborate. I will go to the meetings with an open mind and a lot of knowlege and ideas. But, if we hit a rock wall with ADI, active detection and Isolation and decolonization, I will be back in the Maine legislature next January before the confetti falls to the ground New Years Eve. This is a promise to my father, my family and everybody who advised me and supported my bill. I will not settle for an inadequate plan for MRSA prevention in the State of Maine. In fact I told the director of the MQF, who coincidentally graduated high school with my husband, that together we can come up with the absolute best MRSA prevention program in the country. Then when the Federal CDC wakes up to ever increasing numbers of MRSA victims in our country, they can use our policy as an example for a national policy. That is a lofty goal but a good one.
So the work has just begun. Stay tuned.

My family, Maine State Nurses Association, representaves and friends have all prepared testimony for the Health and Human Services Committee hearing on April 7. I have written the entire story of Dad’s unnecessary hospital acquired MRSA pneumonia. I have had this story in my head for 3 months. When I knew we had to present testimony to the HHS about Dad I asked my family members to write something. My mother, who is very humble and unassuming, didn’t really feel that she could say much about it. Then she read what both of my brothers, my nephew, my son and I had written. She laid awake all night thinking about what she might say. She then asked me if I thought it would help if she said something. I told her of course it would. She said “if it kept me awake, it must mean I should write something”. So she did. It is short and to the point and very poigniant. The testimonies of my other family members revealed to me the pain and hurt they went through during Dad’s illness. His death has effected each of us profoundly but differently, but it was just as hurtful to all of us.
I respect my family and especially my mother for writing from their hearts to help LD 1038 pass. All of them will help, with their testimony to save lives. We couldn’t do that for Dad. We tried for all we were worth to help him, but the disease won.
My testimony is brutally honest and a bit long. But, his story needs to be told in detail to have the intended impact. He suffered terribly and he was confused and frustrated with his terminal infection. About 2 weeks before he died, I had finally convinced the nursing home doctor to do some diagnostics to see where we stood with Dad’s health. When I explained the tests to Dad, he said “What I have is really serious isn’t it?”. He had no idea. And, neither did I at first. The preventable scourge that Dad was given in his hospital blindsided me and my family. By the time we had the results from Dad’s diagnostic tests, he had died.
Dad would be so proud of his family now. He always was anyway. But if he could see all of us standing up and giving our testimony to pass a bill that will save lives, he would absolutely burst with pride. He would cry if he could see his 13 year old nephew Cyle read his testimony about his Grampy. I know I will.

Please, call or write your senators and representatives to support LD 1038. We need to stop MRSA and other Hospital acquired infections. If you have a story and would like it presented to the Health and Human Services committee, please contact me at kathydayrn@aol.com and I will help you with that. The hearing is in Augusta on April 7 after 2pm.

I was introduced to the world of political lobbying yesterday.
I have had very little experience with such things. I learned a great deal. MSNA is incredibly supportive our bill, and for that I am grateful. The MSNA staff is very skilled at lobbying and they helped promote LD 1038 yesterday. Their members and other staff nurses around the State will be the stewards of MRSA Prevention with this new law.
It occurred to me yesterday that I have never commented on the nurses who cared for my father in his community hospital. His care was a tremendous challenge. He was completely helpless, on isolation and at times a little cantankerous. I couldn’t blame him. His clear mind was trapped inside his newly helpless body. It was totally unfair to him, my family and to the healthcare workers who cared for him. We all worked hard to take care of him after all.
I have stated that the precautions taken during my father’s stay were inconsistent. They were. But I cannot place blame on the direct care staff. They worked tirelessly caring for my father. I want to thank them for what they do every day and for the tender and compassionate care they gave my father and my family.
I place blame on an ineffective preventative policy regarding MRSA. Administrators write policy. Administrators monitor infection control compliance and infection clusters. Administrators appropriate funds for preventative programs.

The main goal of my proposal and all the work involved is that lives will be saved and fewer people will suffer the results of hospital acquired MRSA infections. Another goal is to empower direct caregivers with the tools and the policies necessary to actively prevent these infections. Unfortunately now, caregivers are given the assignment to care for too many people who are already infected. This approach by hospitals is reactive rather than proactive.

One of my many positions as an RN was doing triage at the front desk of a busy ER. I loved doing triage and if I do say so myself….I was darned good at it.
I recognized a Level I triage patient within a very few minutes or seconds of a patients arrival. As a triage nurse I did a quick efficient assessment of a patients symptoms, appearance, vital signs, and history to decide what level of triage they fell into. Simply put, Level 1 triage meant that a patient’s life or limb was in jeopardy. Wow, what better way to describe MRSA. MRSA infection prevention should be a Level I triage priority in Maine hospitals every single day….. Life and limb, literally are put at risk when hospital patients contract MRSA.
I reiterate…the nurses who cared for my father were phenomenal, and I thank them. I hold them in high regard and respect them for their hard work.

In order to get my MRSA proposal for the State of Maine out there, I have taken several steps.

My first step was to contact State Representatives and Senators.  Adam Goode D-Representative of Bangor, ME has expressed the most interest and decided to sponsor my proposal. He also works in advocacy at his regular job with Maine People’s alliance.   He in turn promoted my proposal in the House and the Senate. I have also written and phoned many members of the House and Senate to make them aware of my work and why I am doing it.  The majority of those I have managed to speak with are fully supportive.    The steps for making a proposal a bill and then a law are all new to me. This is not the usual “nursing” type of thing that I have done in the past.  I am learning a great deal in this process.

I also emailed and phoned  organizations for their support.  AARP of Penobscot County and Maine State Nurses Association are supporting  my work.  I will meet with the Maine State Employees Association soon.  They are the biggest union in Maine.  I will speak to any and all organizations who are interested in making Maine hospitals cleaner and safer.  I hope to target the elderly, since they are the most vulnerable.

This work is what I am doing instead of just staying mad. I am not funded by any organization or individual.  I started the work alone, but I hope to gain support for what I believe is very important to Maine health care consumers. I want patients in Maine Hospitals to be confident that they won’t have to suffer like my father did.   I was frustrated and angry about what happened to my father.  My anger led me to this passion to make a difference.  I do not believe that hospitals are helpless in this.  All of the research, recommendations and information is out there about MRSA control.  Unfortunately, it is NOT ORGANIZED or MANDATED.  There is too much gossip and not enough fact circulating in hospitals amongst care givers and patients.  Simple inexpensive, standardized and organized steps can help hospitals to avoid spreading MRSA inside their walls.  Every hospital large or small  in Maine needs to be on the same page with MRSA prevention.  The days of “evidence based” steps for MRSA control are over. The only evidence needed is the alarming increase of MRSA infections and deaths in our hospitals.   My father is now on the data……..Data does NOT prevent MRSA.  Dad is not a number. He was my affectionate, loving and generous father.  Simple steps at his hospital could have prevented my father from contracting MRSA pneumonia while he was rehabilitating from a minor injury.

Anybody reading this page can help me to get the word out.  Send my webpage to everybody on your email list. Call or email your Senators and Representatives.  Help me to help others to avoid needless suffering from MRSA infections.  Email me at Mammy1111@aol.com if you would like me to speak to your group about MRSA prevention and my proposal.

When I worked as an Employee Health nurse in the early 90s, I worked in close contact with the Infection control department. If an employee stuck themselves with a dirty needle, we had a needlestick policy that we followed by the book. This policy was to help protect employees from diseases such as Hepatitis B or HIV/AIDS. Also, if a patient was admitted and found later to have an infectious case of TB or meningitis, follow up for all exposed employees ensued. TB testing for everybody who had unprotected exposure to the patient was done and followed up. If the patient had Meningococcal meningitis, employees who had cared for and had unprotected exposure to that patient were offered prophylactic medicine to prevent them from getting the disease.

My major project as one of the EHS nurses was to test for TB. TB had made a comeback of sorts since the spread of HIV/AIDS. New more difficult strains of TB had emerged in part because of the vulnerability of immunocompromised HIV/AIDs patients. I was assigned the daunting task of testing every employee at my 450 bed hospital for TB with a two step testing process. It took almost 2 years to complete this task. I was also responsible for teaching TB precautions and to do TB HEPA filter mask fit testing for employees. There was a new OSHA mandate to do all of this in the nation’s hospitals. Non-compliance was not an option. Tons of money and many hours were dedicated to all of this testing, mask fitting, education and documentation. In all of my 2 years and around 4500 TB tests, I found 2 new positive TB tests in my facility. That’s right….TWO.

Now it seems to me that was a lot of hoopla for a very low number of actual TB cases. I know the importance of TB control. It is a deadly disease and there has been a reemergence of it, but compare it to MRSA.

Approximately 15% of the general population has MRSA growing in or on them. About 30 to 40% of healthcare workers has MRSA growing in them or on them. The spread of MRSA is caused by unwashed hands, contaminated equipment or furnishings, or from an infected roommate. If healthcare workers are colonized ( have MRSA in their noses but no signs of infection) then scrupulous handwashing and the use of gloves is absolutely necessary. Other things to consider are healtcare workers wearing rings or other jewelry, long hair hanging around and hovering over dressing and sterile procedures, fake or long fingernails, and wearing the same lab coat or uniform for more than one day. I don’t know any nurses who would knowingly bring disease to a patient. But, if they are not tending to their own hygeine, it is possible. Also, if a nurse becomes ill with a sneezy, ‘runny nose and eyes’ cold, they should be wearing a mask to protect patients. Better yet, they should NOT be working caring for vulnerable patients. Coughing or sneezing can spread not only a nurse’s virus but it seems that the MRSA in the nares could also be shed and spread.

Nurses are not routinely cultured for MRSA. Some say it is because there are so many of them with MRSA that there wouldn’t be any left at the bedside. I don’t believe that. I believe that nurses, because of the nature of their work, probably have a higher than normal occurance of MRSA in their noses. But, constant testing and decolonizing them isn’t the answer to the dilemma. Strictly enforced precautions and excellent sterile technique is the answer. There is a time that it is important for nurses to become decolonized and that is if they become patients themselves and vulnerable to MRSA infection in a surgical wound or if another illness makes them high risk. Also, if there is a cluster of MRSA infections in a certain department, it may be necessary for MRSA positive nurses to be decolonized. That is usually a simple procedure of putting an antibiotic cream into the nose for 5 days.

Because of hospital acquired infections, I believe it is also time to review our visitors policies in hospitals. It is difficult enough for adults to understand and use precautions. Please don’t bring small vulnerable children into the hospitals and allow them to crawl on the floors and handle equipment. The presence of bacteria is higher in the hospital than visitors know. Brief visits to patients who don’t require isolation may be appropriate, but otherwise keep babies and small children home. The sick patient’s bedside is not the place to bring small children. People in hospitals are sicker than ever and most don’t care to hear loud large parties of people visiting.

Bedside nurses will be the ones who reduce MRSA in our State’s hospitals. Maine’s Hospitals will have the mandates necessary to force them to have effective infection control policies that will reduce MRSA infections and deaths. Bedside nurses are also the ones who are closest to and care the most for and about patients. They are our protectors and advocates when we become patients. I want them to be able to decide for me and the others on my hospital ward about visitors, precautions, isolation, and other steps to protect me and other patients from Hospital acquired infections. Their decisions will also protect patients’ visitors.

MRSA (pronounced MERSA), is actually Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. It is a long name for something that only takes a short time to infect the human body.

The very young and the very old are most vulnerable. So are dialysis, cancer, nursing home and immunocompromised patients.

CDC reported in 2007

Invasive (serious) MRSA infections numbered 94,000, of those 18,000, more than died of HIV/AIDS

Of all Staph infections, about 60% of them is MRSA

2% of S. aureus (STAPH) infections in U.S. intensive-care units were MRSA in 1974, 22% in 1995, and 64% in 2004.

MRSA can infect skin, blood, bones, lungs, and organs. It can move from one part of the body to another.

MRSA can live up to 3 months on a non host surface if not disinfected. On a host surface (skin, nose, lungs) it can live indefinitely.

The two most common MRSA diseases are CA or Community Acquired MRSA and HA or Hospital Acquired MRSA. The two organisms used to differ in their DNA, but recently there seems to be a merging of the two.

MRSA infections can disable or kill otherwise healthy individuals.

Ways to avoid MRSA

Wash your hands frequently and practice good hygiene

Cover your open wounds and don’t touch other people’s wounds without gloves

Don’t share towels, razors or other personal devices.

Tell others if you are infected and avoid close contact with others who are infected

Demand that your health care workers wash their hands before contact.

Keep frequently touched surfaces disinfected.

About 30% of us have Staph in our noses. Ask for a MRSA nasal culture if you are going to have surgery or if you are an at risk hospital admission.

MRSA (pronounced MERSA) is  Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.  It is easy to understand why MRSA is used instead of the long name.  The microorganism is a morphed form of Staph or Staphylococcus Aureus.  Everybody has heard of Staph infections.  They have plagued people for many years. Until MRSA, most staph infections could be effectively treated with Pennicillin and other common antibiotics.  Around 1960, doctors discovered that some Staph infections no longer responded to regular antibiotics, so they discovered a synthetic “cillin” Methicillin.  After too many years of doctors and other prescribers over prescribing antibiotics for viral illnesses and other minor infections, Staph became resistant to Methicillin too.  Thus the title Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus.

MRSA can be contracted inside hospitals and in the community, but it is believed the origin of the infections is health care facilities.  Until lately, Community Acquired MRSA had different DNA than Hospital Acquired MRSA.  It is feared that the two are merging.

HA MRSA accounts for about 70% of all Staph infections in hospitals now.  Staph infections are  the most common HA (hospital acquired) infection.  It invades all soft tissue, organs, bone, blood, lungs and airways, nose, throat and ears.  Many (approximately 30%) of us carry MRSA in our noses.  We have healthy immune systems and so it does not cause symptoms of infection, such as fever, swelling or malaise.  If for some reason we become vulnerable to infection, such as after a serious surgery, we can spread our MRSA from the nose to a surgical wound.  Pre surgical nasal cultures for MRSA can help all of us to avoid such a disaster.  Many thousands of serious surgical site MRSA infections have caused patients unnecessary pain and extended recovery periods.  Some get MRSA in their blood streams and they can die.  Once MRSA becomes invasive, it is very difficult to get rid of.  Amputations are sometimes necessary.

Other common sites of MRSA are in Central line IVs, urinary catheters, lungs after tracheotomies or intubations, and in joint replacements.  High risk patients such as Cancer patients, dialysis patients, Long term care patients and others should always be screened when being admitted to the hospital.   All Pre surgical patients should also be screened.  People with known previous MRSA infections and their caregivers should also be screened.

If those screening cultures are positive, there is a simple treatment for it.  Bactroban cream is put into the nose a few times a day for 5 days and then sometimes the patient is recultured. They are also given Chlorhexidine (Phisohex or Hibiclens) baths once day. During that time, it’s best to avoid procedures that could introduce MRSA into deeper parts of the body, unless it is an emergency.  It is also best to isolate people who are positive for MRSA in their noses or other places.

MRSA is spread to patients in hospitals by hands or by contaminated equipment.  The method of spread of MRSA is contact and droplet.  This means that if a patient is coughing and has MRSA in their lungs, MRSA can be propelled by a cough up to 3 feet from the patient.  The droplets will contaminate all of those surfaces.  Health care workers must use contact precautions AND respiratory precautions when caring for patients with MRSA in the lungs. Caregivers and visitors must use both gloves and masks.  If MRSA is in wounds or on the skin, contact precautions  (handwashing and gloves) are sufficient.

Contact Precautions are as follows.  Before and between contact with patients, the caregiver, or other persons entering the room, must wash their hands with soap and water, or use an alcohol bases hand cleanser.  Then non sterile gloves must be worn.  If the caregiver is going to be handling any wet bedding or have close touching contact with the patient then a gown must also be worn.  The germ can get onto caregivers and visitor’s  clothing and be spread to other patients. The hands must be washed and new gloves and gown put on before contact with another patient.  All frequently used items such as a blood pressure cuff, thermometer, IV poles or pumps, must be assigned to MRSA positive patients and not shared with non infected or non colonized patients.

If there is lung invovlement or there will be spraying of infected bodily fluids, a mask must also be worn by the caregivers/visitors.

MRSA is considered an infection when the patient has active signs of infection to include fever, malaise, purulent (pus) drainage, swelling, redness, and other signs of active infection.  My father was treated for his infection and then given the sad news that he would always be colonized in his lungs.  This means the bacteria never goes away and he could become ill again with infection at any time.  Because he had MRSA in his sputum and for the rest of his life, he still needed to stay on respiratory and contact precautions.  We wore masks and gloves every visit until he died.

MRSA is a persistant, invasive and a potentially deadly disease.  In Maine Hospitals are not required to even report these hospital acquired infections to the State CDC.  The purpose of CDC is to Control Disease.  If they are not given the numbers of these infections, how will they know where to concentrate their efforts to control the spread of the disease?  Part of my proposal will be to require all hospitals in the State of Maine to report these infections, and if they were present on the patients hospital admission or if they acquired it while hospitalized.  This will make hospitals accountable for infections that they spread to vulnerable patients.  Publicizing this information will also allow health care consumers a way to make wise health care decisions for themselves and their families.

MRSA can be controlled.  The VA hospitals all over the country require ever single hospital admission be screened, and they follow the other steps I have included in my proposal.  It has been successful enough that they will now expand their program into VA Long Term facilities.

Contact your local senators and representatives to support the McCleary MRSA prevention bill, now known as Maine LD 1038.