Have you ever wondered how hospital scores are created? As we have explored in previous posts, there are a number of organizations and companies that publish hospital scores and ranks for the consumer, in an effort to help individuals make educated choices about their healthcare while also making medical facilities more transparent about their successes and challenges (to varying degrees of success). But where do these scores come from?
In the field of patient safety, you find an army of hospital administrators, consultants, manufacturers, healthcare workers, and evaluators. Out in front, pushing into new territory while leading the way, you will find a solitary figure, a mother, the standard-bearer. Her flag is perhaps the most powerful weapon in the fight against medical errors and hospital-acquired infections: Her daughter's story.
Our earlier post gave us a glimpse into the life of a mom responding to the shocking diagnosis of cancer in her three-year-old son, Jack. This concluding segment will explore the result of her unrelenting fight against infection as she did everything possible to help her son survive, and the lasting impact that experience has had on her life the life of her son.
March 12 - 18, 2017 is Patient Safety Awareness Week, an annual education and awareness campaign for health care safety led by the National Patient Safety Foundation. Here are links to some of the excellent resources health care facilities created to participate in this important community project.
Most of the attention regarding antibiotic-resistant MRSA is found in hospitals and healthcare settings, places where strains of the common Staphylococcus aureus have evolved to resist these treatments. But there is a type of MRSA that is spread outside of healthcare settings, among healthy individuals. This type is called "Community-Acquired MRSA," (CA-MRSA) and can also be difficult to treat. Today we'll explore what sets this particular strain of Staph apart from its more harmful, hospital-associated cousin.
