Study Reveals Reduction In Infection Rate By Giving Patients Private Rooms
A study by McGill University researchers that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests that a private room in a hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) can decrease the chances of contracting an infection. The study compared rates of infection in an ICU before and after the hospital changed from shared rooms with curtains to private, single rooms. The results of the study showed that the combined rate of infection for C. difficile, MRSA (methiciliin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus), and vancomycin-resistant Enteroccucus decreased by 54% after the change to private rooms. Private rooms can cut down on...
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Study Demonstrates Correlation Between Under-Staffing & Incidence Of Infections In Nursing Homes
Amongst the first of its kind, researchers at the University of Pittsburgh set forth to determine what factors make nursing home patients susceptible to infections. The team of researchers evaluated Medicare and Medicaid data from 16,000 from 2000 through 2007 and determined that the biggest predictor of infection was the staffing levels at the facility. While analyzing the data supplied pursuant to medicare regulations, the researchers looked for violations related to F-Tag 441. F-Tag 441 is the citation given to nursing homes when nursing home surveyors find violations for infection control protocol. According to Medicare data, 15% of nursing home...
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Is Your Nursing Home Making you Sick? Long-term Care Facilities Provide An Ideal Environment For Communicable Diseases
Overcrowding is a common problem and complaint at many nursing home facilities. These facilities house large numbers of elderly residents, often in close proximity to each other, creating the ideal environment for dangerous outbreaks of communicable diseases. Communicable diseases are diseases that spread from person to person (contagious, infectious). These diseases are caused by germs (fungi, viruses, bacteria, and parasites). Disease Prevention Communicable diseases are spread by organisms that live in the soil, water, and air. They can be spread by: Touching Breathing Eating Drinking Kissing Sexual contact Insect bites Animals Our bodies have numerous microorganisms that live both in and on our bodies...
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C-Diff Infection Alleged To Blame For Death Of Nursing Home Patient
A recently filed wrongful death lawsuit claims that clostridium difficile, or commonly known as C. Diff, is to blame for the death of a patient in an Illinois Nursing Home. The lawsuit alleges two short-term stays at Helia Healthcare facilities (Helia Healthcare of Energy and Helia Healthcare of Benton) are to responsible for the man's C. Diff infection and development of decubitus ulcers. It is further alleged that these medical complications contributed to the man's death. Despite the fact that the man had a prior episode of C. Diff, and was at an increased risk for return of the infection,...
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The Cause Of Many Nursing Home Patients' Injuries May Be Related To An Underlying Medical Issue
Most of the time a family contacts my office, it is due to an incident involving abuse or ongoing neglect. Although perhaps less obvious, after we investigate many of the cases, the underlying problem may be a complex medical condition that may ultimately prove important in successfully prosecuting the matter. Here are some of the medical conditions we have discussed over the past year: Clostridium Difficile / C. Diff Clostridium difficile (also called C. difficile or C. diff) associated disease (“CDAD”) is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea and serious intestinal conditions (such as colitis - inflammation of the...
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Left Untreated, Stomach Aches Can Be Deadly For Elderly Nursing Home Patients
Clostridium difficile (also called C. difficile or C. diff) associated disease (“CDAD”) is a bacterial infection that can cause diarrhea and serious intestinal conditions (such as colitis - inflammation of the colon). CDAD is responsible for about three million cases of diarrhea and colitis annually in the United States. C. difficile is naturally found in the environment and even in a small number (fewer than 3%) of healthy people’s large intestine. Most people in good health do not usually get sick from C. difficile because of the millions of intestinal bacteria that help protect the body from infection. When people-- particularly the...
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