McCleary MRSA Prevention

The 1967 graduating High School Class of Stearns High School, Millinocket, ME  was a very close bunch.  Like all young people, we  each moved on with our lives. Most of us moved “away”, but part of our hearts stayed in Millinocket.  We sometimes lost touch, but a lot of us tried to go to the reunions as often as possible.  I saw my friend Mike Simone just a couple of years ago for the first time in years.  It was like those interim  years never happened. He was such a sweet guy and he loved his hometown and classmates.   We talked about life, his diabetes and old friends.

It was with great sadness I read my classmate’s obituary today.  I just visited with him a little over a month ago.  I was contacted and told by a co- classmate that Mike had MRSA.  This was not good news.  Mike was a big man with a big heart and he had problems with diabetes.  He was considered “high risk” for infections, although it is my belief that infections can be prevented for ALL patients in Hospitals.  It is their job!

Mike had a cardiac valve replacement done last fall. His preoperative MRSA screening test was negative.  He had the heart surgery because he needed a knee replacement and the heart  problem  was fixed to prepare and bolster  him for the second surgery. He told me he never felt right after the heart surgery.   Then several weeks later, when he took off his shoe and sock, there was a tremendous odor. He hadn’t felt pain because he had neuropathy and decreased sensation in his feet.   He  found pus in his sock.  His toe was infected with MRSA.  He was seen by his local doc and Hospital and then transferred to EMMC here in Bangor for further treatment.  He had to get his toe amputated, and the pervasive MRSA infection was also in his blood and in his heart….his newly repaired heart.  This was very serious business for Mike.  His appetite disappeared, he was unable to get out of bed and his strength was gone. The damage to Mike’s body caused by MRSA, and the high powered antibiotics needed to treat it  was much worse than what years of diabetes had done to him.   His treatment at EMMC lasted a few weeks and then he was told “there is nothing more we can do”.  According to his wife Carolyn, his liver and kidneys had begun to fail.  I advised them that perhaps the Joslin Clinic, with their cutting edge diabetes interventions, could help.  Mike just wanted to go home.  He missed his family and  his lifelong community of friends.  His wife said that he already had his finger on the pulse of all ‘goings on’ at his hometown hospital just a day after his transfer back ‘home’.  He saw everyone who roamed the Hospital halls and talked to a lot of them.   He was where he wanted to be. 

I visited Mike just a little over a month ago in our hometown hospital.  I carefully washed my hands and donned gloves and sat with him. We talked again.    His once large arms were skinny and  had wrinkled  sagging skin on them.He couldn’t get out of bed and he was very weak.  He had become a shadow of the Mike I knew.  But,   he was comfortable, and content and glad to be home.  When I asked if there was anything I could do for him, he said  “I don’t think there is much anyone can do for me”.   He had accepted what was coming.  The following was in this morning’s newspaper.

Michael J. Simone, 67, passed away May 13, 2012. A complete obituary will be published in a later edition of the Bangor Daily News. Arrangements are by Lamson Funeral Home, Millinocket. Messages of condolence may be expressed at www.lamsonfh.com.

Mike died on Mother’s Day, May 13.   I am so saddened by this news and for his family.  He died in the same Hospital where my father contracted MRSA.  Today, I grieve Michael Simone and my father, both victims of preventable Healthcare Associated MRSA infections.

My renewed passion to STOP THE INFECTIONS NOW has pulled me back to my blog and other places where I will share Mikes story (with both his permission and his wife’s).  I became part of a 10 member panel to help determine the gaps in MRSA Screening Research.  I will tell about Mike and Dad to the  other 9 members, all with impressive MD resumes and who manage insurance companies, influence  CDC recommendations and teach at medical schools.   I will share these tragedies anywhere, and with whomever I think  can make a difference.  At the end of the month,  I will attend a national conference on the reporting and data of these infections.   Mike’s  infection and my father’s will not be buried  in data. They will be reported in person.

When I visited Mike, I told him that I was sorry this was happening to him.  My heartfelt apology was on my behalf and that of others who really care about stopping infections.   We hadn’t done enough yet to prevent Mike’s infection…it’s time to stop metering out prevention in fits and spurts.  We need to go “ full court press”  to eliminate HAIs.

Addendum.  A few days ago, I spoke with Mike’s widow Carolyn.  She is doing well and taking stock of Mike’s life and healthcare journey.  Like most of us who have had similar experinces,  she is still seeking answers about Mike’s debacle.  She believes that patients are not warned enough about the possibilities of MRSA when they are asked to give consent for the surgery.  She also had great concerns about the lack of education for the patient and their families and visitors about MRSA.  She made a plea to me to get the word out on these concerns.  I made a promise to Carolyn that I would do my best, and spread the word on her requests and concerns.

http://hc4.me/quality

This is the new webpage for Maine Peoples Alliance where Mainers can tell about their healthcare experiences.  My story about my father, who died of hospital acquired MRSA pneumonia is the lead story for this new blog webpage.  Please visit and comment.  Hopefully, this opportunity for Mainers to tell their Healthcare stories will shed light on the problem of medical error and hospital infections in Maine.

Thank you.

January 9 was the anniversary of my father, John McCleary’s death.  A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then.  Nothing that has happened or been accomplished with MRSA prevention will bring him back, but my part of the work was all done in Dad’s honor.

The very week of this anniversary, Maine hospitals began screening high risk patients for MRSA.  This is a huge step in the right direction.   I have spoken with several nurses from different parts of the State, but the one I was happiest to hear from was a nurse from Dad’s hometown.  I took my mother out for lunch at a local restaurant, and we ran into an old friend who is a nurse and she cared for Dad.  She said the community hospital is screening ALL admissions.  They are not obligated to do that but it is the simpler and actually more comprehensive  approach to MRSA screening than just high risk screening.  MRSA does not descriminate by age, enthnicity, race, etc.  It can and does effect all.   So, this news was great.  Further comment from this nurse was “and it is about time!”

Other big strides in MRSA prevention have been made in Maine hospitals.  I hope the quality of their programs is consistant because before last year, I know it was not.  And, my original legislative proposal to standardize MRSA prevention policy all over the State (to reflect the steps of Active Detection and Isolation) was characterized as “cumbersome and prescriptive”.  Actually it was 4 basic steps and they work  really well when done altogether.  So, that standard and mandate in all hospitals would have sealed the success of prevention for all Maine Hospitals.  Maine Hospitals still have discretion in the use of the weak CDC recommendations when they write their policies. They basically can pick and choose and they might not always choose the best parts of the CDC recommendations.  It’s pretty hard anyway considering they are ineffective (in their current order)  and a couple hundred pages long.

But, to keep this entry positive and upbeat…..Maine hospitals have progressed in their infection control approaches and policies. 

The reason I am so happy about Dad’s hospital is that my mother still lives in that community and depends on that facility for her care.   The nurses and doctors there are awesome, but last year, their MRSA  detection and prevention policy was horrid and inconsistant.  I am now more confident in their approach to MRSA prevention.

I brought my mother beautiful yellow roses (a favorite of both hers and Dad’s) the day of the anniversary of Dad’s death.  But, more importantly, I hopefully brought her a safer hospital.