Executive Housekeeping Today - January 2008 - (Page 11)

MRSA: Myth or Monster? By definition, MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a strain of a once innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics. MRSA began to emerge as a “superbug” in the 90s. At that time, it was much more evident within the hospital community than in the general public. However, by the turn of the century, it became more prominent within the elderly community. And within the last five years, it has been showing up in a wealth of public institutions; including, high schools, hotel/motels, daycares, and public and private health clubs. b by Al Cascardo possibly due to the number of students and youthful employees today coming from fragmented homes, with perhaps less than desirable hygiene practices (hand washing, picking up after themselves, sharing toiletries, etc.). • Our institutions are built or retrofitted today with such energy and security concerns that they are creating breeding grounds for germs and bacteria that enter and stay. • Our schools have greatly expanded their athletic activities over the past 15 years into yearround sports, which include heavy contact sports (football, soccer, wrestling, etc.). • Many people habitually remain unconcerned about what may appear to be a minor cut or abrasion to their skin. Therefore, without swift treatment, the injury may become a serious infection. A microscopic view of MRSA: Definitely a monster! institutional environment. According to the latest figures from MRSA Watch (August 2007), “ 5,325 opportunities for hand hygiene were observed (in the hospital environment), and only 42% to 55% personnel use it!” 3. Chemicals and Sprays: Sanitizing surfaces (benches, tables, chairs, sports equipment, floor mats, lockers, clip boards, reception desks, etc.) with chemicals has been the only means by which our institutions could do battle with surface-borne infections. In a hospital or a long-term care facility, the nurses’ station is not only the nucleus for operation, it has become a “germ transfer station” due to constant interaction between the staff and the residents or patients. This type of sanitizing does nothing for airborne microbes, and on surfaces, it cannot compensate for the factor of human error (hand hygiene). Why is MRSA Accelerating? In short, the bacterium (common within 40% of the general population) remains innocuous until it finds an entry into the bloodstream. Once that occurs, the infectious seed is planted and MRSA rapidly turns minor abscesses and other skin infections into serious health problems; including painful, disfiguring “necrotizing” abscesses that eat away tissue. The widely-accepted reasons for this to be occurring so rapidly in today’s society are: • Antibiotics have been used like “candy” and they are bound to deteriorate in their effectiveness to fight infections. • Our institutions have inherited some hygiene/cultural issues, How Did We Kill MRSA Before? . Antibiotics: These drugs are part of the problem. We actually spent more time dispensing antibiotics than we did training on good and consistent hygiene practices. Hence, the foremost accepted stopgap (antibiotics) was our safety net. 2. Good Hygiene: While adopting this practice is academic and would be successful in greatly reducing the occurrence of passing on the infection, it is apparently not practical in today’s real-world What Alternatives Are There? . Personnel: Hiring more staff to be in more places at the same time, while cleaning more surfaces at the same time, could theoretically improve the situation, but there is still no guarantee that “human error” will not come into play. Also, increasing the number of in-service presentations (continued on page 13) January 2008/Executive Housekeeping Today

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - January 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - January 2008 Contents Executive Corner How Hand-Held Computers Benefit Quality Assurance Programs Shining the Light on ATP Detection Frugal Housekeeper MRSA: Myth or Monster? The Impact of New Laundry Technology I.E.H.A.’s 41st Educational Conference and Convention Wrap-Up Board Briefing 2007 Audit Report The Green Scene 2007 International Housekeepers Week Celebrations! Inside the Industry Product Highlights Advertisers' Index Joint IEHA/ISSA Members New Members Calendar of Events Inside I.E.H.A. What I.E.H.A. Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - January 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.