Hello,
I have to admit that most Kaiser facilities and VA facilities tend to have
similar issues as those you mention. Curious, did you write a letter to anyone
to complain??
I always tell anyone who has less than satisfactory customer service to take it
to the top. There are many law suits in progress for things such as getting an
infection while hospitalized. Many insurance companies are getting on the band
wagon and refusing to pay for hospital days for care related to hospital
associated infections. So they all have reason to do better!! (if they didn't't
before!) Many times, it is unfortunate but true, but money talks! When it gets
them in the pocket book...it gets their attention.
Curious what part of the world you live in...East Coast? West Coast? Northwest?
Other??

The Association of Practitioners in Infection Control (APIC.ORG) has been
campaigning for a long while...and they (along with others) strongly encourage
people to educate staff who may have become complacent, have less than adequate
knowledge base, etc. So, maybe when you have the opportunity, tell staff to STOP
and listen to you. Tell them that MRSA is now in epidemic proportions. You have
it because of people just like them that either did nto take the time to use
appropriate precautions and use hospital policy.

Ask them to prevent sharing it with others including their own family members by
taking a moment and "thinking" and using appropriate precautions now.
I can not imagine a better way to ring them back to reality. We have actually
posted signage asking people to ask their care providers to WASH their hands.
I know alot of organizations have done the same.

I remember in the early 90's hearing about the antibiotic resistant organisms
and hoping they stayed on the east coast...and it did take many years to reach
the west coast...but even here in my community people are coming in every day to
get IV antibiotics for a strain picked up somewhere in the community.
It amazes me for a small town the high incidence. Fortunately, we have a
physician reviewer who points it out at every medical staff meeting and hoping
that the physicians are indeed "getting it." However, they also have respect for
me as the Infection Control Practitioner and will take advice. Staff have not
always had someone to teach them and they are hungry for the knowledge and want
to do it right. BUT...I still appreciate patients and families drawing their
attention to things like hand washing, glove use, etc.

Good luck and to your health!
Mary Ann Bernard, RN
Wellness Coach
www.juiceplus.com/+mb00020

-----Original message-----
From: "Linda" lindacooper-takao@...
Date: Sat, 02 Jun 2007 16:27:50 -0700
To: MRSA@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [MRSA] Re: New to MRSA Support Group

> I contracted my ha-MRSA(hospital acquired) at Kaiser Santa Teresa while
> being treated for a foot infection. The podiatry department does take
> precautions as far as MRSA patients whose file identifies them....BUT I
> recently had appointments with my primary care physician and my
> gynecologist, and sad but true, neither department gave a hoot about my
> MRSA. That's most likely why patients are contracting it more and more
> at the hospital. I don't know if it's ignorance, plain lack of educating
> the staff, or some other excuse. The podiatry department cleans the
> examining room thoroughly when my visit is done...there is a marker
> placed on the door that tells the staff that I am a MRSA patient. The
> other departments do absolutely nothing...in fact, my primary care
> physician aside from reluctantly listening to my heart, ignored a list I
> had brought with me of issues I wanted addressed. Referrals, paperwork,
> prescriptions....no answers...and ran an hour and a half late...just in
> time for all the depts to be shut down...ex-rays and lab closed.
> I told her I've had a cough since my January hospital stay...she says a
> cough that lasts that long must be an allergy! Really????? Wasted my $30
> and I did NOT book a return appointment.
> It seems like I sure suffer a lot at the expense of not getting proper
> care.
>
>
> --- In MRSA@yahoogroups.com, "Mary Ann Bernard" <mbernard@...> wrote:
> >
> > As a hospital employee for 36 yrs.....MRSA concerns us as well. People
> bring it into the hospital unbeknownst to us many times.
> > There is a strain that is easily picked up places such as grocery stor
> carts....door knobs, etc.
> > BUT....I can say get your immune system normalized. People do not have
> the immune function we shoudl have. A good functioning immune system can
> "prevent" illness of varying degrees. I teach wellness in my off hours
> as it gives me great pleasure to help people stay healthy and decrease
> risk of disease.
> > To your health!
> > Mary Ann
> >
> > -----Original message-----
> > From: "bweisbachbooks" bweisbachbooks@...
> > Date: Fri, 01 Jun 2007 07:57:23 -0700
> > To: MRSA@yahoogroups.com
> > Subject: [MRSA] New to MRSA Support Group
> >
> > > I am new here and need information. I contracted MRSA Feburary,
> 2006
> > > and have not been the same since. I have undergone 7 surgeries and
> am
> > > facing my 8th soon. This web-site is a God send. We need to fight
> > > for more readily information to be available to us with MRSA.
> > > We may just be a number to the hospital staff, but we are not
> numbers,
> > > we have patient rights and need to know when and how we contracted
> > > MRSA and to stop it from happening to other innocent patients.
> > > Beverly Weisbach
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
>
>
>
>