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JMH Ranks High with Low Infection Rate
A Duke University Medical Center report that gauges how well hospitals prevent infection said Johnston Memorial made great strides last year, outperforming most of its peers.
In the report, the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network, called DICON for short, said the local hospital did a better job of warding off infections that patients might acquire after surgery or following a procedure.
For the study, DICON tracked common surgeries such as vaginal hysterectomies and cesarean sections. It also looked at surgeries such as joint replacements that involve bones, for which infections can be especially stubborn to treat.
DICON collected data from the hospital and from doctors as they followed up care with patients after leaving the hospital. The report compared the hospital’s results to 2005, and to hospitals of similar type and size. Johnston Memorial is one of 38 hospitals participating in the study.
Most significant for JMH was the decline in the rate of infections acquired following hospitalization. In particular, the rate fell 80 percent for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA for short. The rate was lower than the average for other DICON hospitals of similar size.
Marcia Warner, manager of the hospital’s infection control program, said the resistant strain of staph is becoming more common in the community. Many patients already have the bacteria when they arrive at the hospital, she said.
The germ is worrisome because it spreads so easily from one person to another, and can cause a raging infection, particularly among those whose immune systems are weak, she said.
Warner thinks her department is now doing a better job of teaching isolation procedures to nurses and of prompting everyone to wash their hands more frequently and efficiently.
“Our infection control surveillance program is working,” she added. “The report shows we’re providing excellent patient care. We have few hospital-acquired infections.”
The results of the study also showed a 26-percent decline in the rate for ventilator-associated pneumonia and a 21-percent decrease in catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Both of the rates were lower than the average for similar-sized hospitals.
Still, there’s room for improvement. As in all hospitals, complying with procedures for isolating patients is a chronic problem, the report said. It recommended continuing intensive education about isolation procedures and hand hygiene.
Warner agreed.“We need to reduce the time between the patient being admitted and isolation procedures being started,” she said. “But overall, this was a very good report.
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