In any hospital, patient safety is priority one. And so at Sherman, with our goal of becoming one of the best community hospitals in the nation, we take patient safety very seriously. We were recently ranked well above average at preventing healthcare associated infections (HAIs), which are infections that patients acquire while receiving treatment for other conditions within a healthcare setting, such as surgical-site infections, urinary tract infections related to catheters, etc. And HAIs are surprisingly important to pay attention to—they are one of the top ten leading causes of death in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

We recently sat down to talk with Kathy Aureden, Epidemiology Coordinator at Sherman. We chatted about Hospital Infections, why they happen, and the steps Sherman takes to prevent them.

How serious are hospital infections?
Healthcare associated infections are a very serious problem worldwide. Patients who require medical assistance in hospital settings are often in a weakened state. Their bodies cannot handle exposures to organisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi) that do not normally affect healthy people.

Do you know how many patients are infected in a given year nationally?
The most recent well-researched numbers on HAI are based on data from 2002.  The estimated number of HAI from that time was 1.7 million, with around 99,000 deaths annually. Many effective patient safety initiatives have been implemented in healthcare settings since that time, and there has been good progress in reducing these numbers.

How do patients come down with an infection during a hospital stay?
Patients are more at risk because their medical care often involves surgery and procedures, or invasive devices like tubes, lines, catheters that enter the body. Also, some drugs and processes used to treat a patient’s medical condition have the unfortunate side effect of increasing the risk of infections from multidrug resistant or unusual bacteria.

So how can medical care providers prevent infection?
One of the simplest yet most effective basic infection prevention strategies is hand hygiene. Healthcare providers, visitors and families, and patients themselves all can work together to be sure hand hygiene is part of the process of care.

Hospitals also use more complex infection prevention measures, including “bundling” infection prevention processes known to be effective in reducing the risk of HAI. For instance, hospital staff ensure that the process of inserting the central line is safe and effective by using an infection prevention bundle of practices commonly used to prevent central line-related bloodstream infections.

Is there anything people can do to reduce their risk of a hospital associated infection?
Absolutely. People can modify behaviors that place a person at risk of HAI (like smoking) and can follow their doctors’ advice on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, including weight control, exercise, diet, and medications as appropriate. If this is done prior to becoming a hospital patient, the risk of infection will be reduced.

Why does Sherman Hospital, in particular, do well at preventing hospital infections?
Sherman Hospital healthcare providers and staff are absolutely committed to patient safety while the patient is in our care. They pay attention to the small things, such as not touching a patient until they have cleaned their hands, to the more complex things such as carefully preparing for surgery using sterile techniques, instruments, and processes.

In addition, Sherman Hospital has an ongoing infection surveillance process that helps locate and contain multidrug resistant organisms and communicable diseases and finds HAIs to evaluate how, where, and what we can do better to prevent them.

We value our environmental services staff for their importance in preventing infection, and we keep up to date with changes or enhancements of best practices from the CDC, national patient safety organizations, and other quality of care sources. Everyone at Sherman Hospital understands that they have a role in patient safety and in preventing infections.

Our thanks to Kathy for taking the time to offer information on this important subject. To learn more about healthcare associated infections, visit shermanhealth.com