How The Ebola Crisis Could Help Save 75,000 Patients

It has taken an epidemic in West Africa to expose a troubling issue for U.S. hospitals and health policy: the short shrift given infection prevention. In a thoughtful December Health Affairs Blog post, Dr. Leonard Mermel, an epidemiologist and infection control specialist, noted that over a three-month period his hospital’s work on Ebola preparedness “significantly strained our ability to manage other infection control challenges.” That is a red flag for health care policymakers. As hospitals focus on Ebola preparations, we can’t lose sight of the fact that more than 700,000 Americans contract health care associated infections (HAIs) each year. About 75,000 people die from HAIs, such as Clostridium difficile (C. diff), Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE). This is more than 10 times the number of patients who have died from Ebola across the globe. Infection Prevention Resources Infection preventionists are the experts in protecting patients and health care workers from deadly infections every day. Their work encompasses implementing processes and procedures, and educating health care staff, to prevent HAIs. Even before Ebola came along, our infection prevention and control infrastructure was stretched. In many cases, infection preventionists wear multiple hats in the hospital – they often are responsible for occupational and employee health, quality improvement efforts, and other duties. This means that duri...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: All Categories Global Health Health Care Delivery Hospitals Prevention Public Health Workforce Source Type: blogs