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Sunday, Aug. 8, 2010 | 2 a.m.
Do No Harm: Hospital Care in Las Vegas, Part 2
- A hidden epidemic
- Hospital stay will stay with her always
- VA system stanching MRSA
- Hospital’s sanitation promises quickly forgotten
- Billing codes key to data analyzed on infections
- Where I Stand: Rise in infection rates, hospitals’ reticence are troublesome
- Editorial: Hospitals should do more to protect patients from deadly bacteria
- ‘We’re the ones who are in there. Our lives are entrusted to them.’
- Health board backs limits on disclosure of infections
- How best to stem spread of infection?
- St. Rose breaks ranks with disclosure on quality of care
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In July 2008, MountainView Hospital executives learned their infection control practices were so bad the federal government was ready to send its Medicare patients — the bulk of the hospital's business — elsewhere.
Nevada health inspectors had found multiple infection control violations at MountainView, including blood on a lab floor, a physician assistant contaminating equipment with bloody gloves, and no system to track whether patients had picked up an infection after undergoing an outpatient endoscopy or cardiac catheterization procedure.
Wary of losing government-insured patients, MountainView CEO Will Wagnon pledged every effort to reduce hospital-acquired infections. And the hospital implemented wide-ranging corrections.
Medicare funding was saved.
Yet in health care there is always tension between providing safe, excellent care and making a profit. MountainView is part of Sunrise Health System, owned by Tennessee-based Hospital Corporation of America, a publicly traded company that expects returns from Las Vegas.
Despite his pronouncements on the hospital's unwavering commitment to infection control, Wagnon within weeks was arguing to spare expenses on that front — specifically, for a variance from the State Health Board to leave sinks out of bathrooms in a dozen pediatric rooms.
State regulations require bathrooms in every hospital room because access to hand-washing equipment helps protect patients from infections caused by highly contagious, drug-resistant bacteria.
When the Health Board considered the hospital's request in October 2008, MountainView officials argued that installing sinks in the bathrooms would cause undue hardship. It would cost $300,000, and require closing beds in the intensive care unit below the pediatric rooms for the two months of construction, officials said.
Wagnon assured board members at the public meeting that MountainView had exceptional infection control and hand-washing standards.
Without mentioning its recent troubles with Medicare, Wagnon said: "We have redoubled our efforts in infection control and hand hygiene. In the last month we've taken hand hygiene very seriously because it's paramount to the national safety goal of reducing hospital-acquired infections."
The board denied MountainView's request.
"This is just basic sanitation. There's no way I can support a variance on that," said Roger Works, a veterinarian who sits on the board.
Given global travel, what role does tourism and immigration play? Look at bed bug infestations at hotels. etc. Dengue fever, etc. are just across the border.
I also see a number of people walking around supermarkets, gas stations, etc. in scrubs, I assume coming or going from medical facilities. Unless bleach is used, bacteria stays on clothes and spreads to other clothes in the wash.
Where are the fines, punishment? Who is protecting the public? Its obviously not any form of government. We have to protect ourselves as the laws in place are not enforced except when it benefits them. Be diligent in your efforts and research all you can before taking your doctors recommendation.
This is why we need Universal Health Care in this country. I don't have a problem with companies making money, but not at the expense of doing the right thing. And if the do put profits above doing the right thing, then maybe we need a different way of doing things.
And I don't want to hear any of the "Socialist" or "Communist" garbage, politics has nothing to do with this. The problem is that PROFITS are more important than PATIENTS.
The first line of HCAs quartly report is:
"Revenues increased 3.7 percent to $7.756 billion, compared to $7.483 billion in the second quarter of 2009." They seem to be doing just fine since the passage of the Health Care bill.
Couldn't they have found something in that additional 263 million dollars to install some sinks that they should have had in the first place?
My primary care doc says "Have you had a colonoscopy"? I said no. He asked why, I said "because I can't afford to drive to So Cal". He said "Huh"? I said, at age 67, I'll take the over on living OK without one.
Better than getting hepatitis from our Valley's woeful hospitals. I'm having a knee scope here next week-wish me luck, I wouldn't doubt Vegas could screw this simple operation up, too.
Hospital administrators don't seem to care as long as 1)They are meeting the financial goals set by their parent company or in the case of UMC 2) They stay in the administrative suites avoiding contact with the realities of their hospital.
As for universal health care, let's not be fooled. The same people who run health care now, public and private would run it if we have universal health care and nothing will change because their is no accountability. Even when things are reported to the state and federal government, typically nothing gets done. It's a depressing reality.
Um, Mr. Allen, why is this news when it all happened 2 years ago?
That was the same time my mom was there and she got something similiar to MRSA. I thought it was because she no immune system due to the chemo and radiation now seeing this bothers me. I guess the saying is true avoid hospitals at all costs.