A nurse who survived a severe hospital acquired infection and the physician who created healthcare's well-known "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" program discuss the stubborn nature of handwashing compliance and tips for hospitals to improve it.
Ellen Hargett, RN, is not the typical patient. She's director of process improvement at Atlanta-based DeKalb Regional Health System. That's why, when she became a cancer surgery patient at her own hospital, she was fully aware of the risks of the operation. However, she never expected to fall victim to a severe surgical site infection.
Ms. Hargett contracted an unusually severe case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria often transmitted through improper hand hygiene, after a second operation to correct complications from the initial cancer surgery. She battled sepsis and an abdominal abscess for many months following the second surgery. Ultimately, she was informed her last option was a third surgery that would leave her abdomen open for a week. She said yes. It saved her life.
Read the full article on Becker's Hospital Review.
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Ellen Hargett, RN, is not the typical patient. She's director of process improvement at Atlanta-based DeKalb Regional Health System. That's why, when she became a cancer surgery patient at her own hospital, she was fully aware of the risks of the operation. However, she never expected to fall victim to a severe surgical site infection.
Ms. Hargett contracted an unusually severe case of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria often transmitted through improper hand hygiene, after a second operation to correct complications from the initial cancer surgery. She battled sepsis and an abdominal abscess for many months following the second surgery. Ultimately, she was informed her last option was a third surgery that would leave her abdomen open for a week. She said yes. It saved her life.
Read the full article on Becker's Hospital Review.
