Public Service Healthcare-Associated Infection

I'm helping spread the word about Healthcare-Associated Infection (HAI) mostly because it's near and dear to me.  If you aren't aware, there are three types of HAIs:

1. Ventilator - Associated Pneumonia (VAP) - VAP is the source of the highest morbidity and mortality of all HAIs.  My two year old's condition worsened a year ago to the point of almost causing her death which was partially attributed to the VAP.  For more information, click HERE.
2. Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) - Another one dear and near to me because three year's ago, my father was diagnosed with colon cancer.  During his treatment, he developed a very painful infection in his tailbone related to a procedure.  Any breach of a patient's skin can lead to infection and can turn deadly. To understand SSIs, click HERE.
3. Cross Contamination (Contact Transfer) is the number one source of HAIs.  To read more, click HERE.

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report published in March-April 2007 estimated the number of U.S. deaths from healthcare associated infections in 2002 at 98,987.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.

Always remind your healthcare provide to wash his/her hand before touching you. 

To read all about the campaign and access a wealth of resources, go to www.haiwatchnews.com.