Thursday, January 17, 2008
Deadly Infection in Baltimore Hospital
http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=ee16947b-ec2f-447d-abac-e909032e73b4&rss=702
Three patients from a Baltimore hospital are dead – after becoming infected with deadly, drug-resistant bacteria.
On January 4th, officials at the University of Maryland Medical Center discovered that the three patients had been infected with “Acinetobacter baumannii.” It is not clear whether the patients actually died from that infection; hospital officials say all three patients were already very ill, and had been hospitalized for several weeks.
Still, the hospital is taking serious precautions. “Unfortunately, this organism -- and other organisms -- appear in many hospitals in Baltimore and beyond on an ongoing basis. That is why we have a proactive and comprehensive infection control and surveillance system in place,” said Ellen Beth Levitt, a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Four other patients identified as having the organism are still being cared for in the unit and are in stable condition, Levitt said. They have been separated from other patients and they are being treated by a team with strict contact precautions in force, including the use of gloves and gowns, frequent hand washing and frequent disinfection of medical equipment and facilities. No new patients are being admitted to that unit for the time being, she said.
Acinetobacter baumannii is best-known for affecting military personnel who have been serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. The bacteria can live on surfaces like countertops, medical equipment and even cell phones for up to 12 days. Most strains are difficult to treat, because they are not affected by common antibiotics. However, the infection poses little risk to healthy people. It can cause a variety of illnesses, ranging from pneumonia to serious blood or wound infections. Acinetobacter may also colonize or grow in a patient without causing infection or symptoms.
http://www.abc2news.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=ee16947b-ec2f-447d-abac-e909032e73b4&rss=702
Three patients from a Baltimore hospital are dead – after becoming infected with deadly, drug-resistant bacteria.
On January 4th, officials at the University of Maryland Medical Center discovered that the three patients had been infected with “Acinetobacter baumannii.” It is not clear whether the patients actually died from that infection; hospital officials say all three patients were already very ill, and had been hospitalized for several weeks.
Still, the hospital is taking serious precautions. “Unfortunately, this organism -- and other organisms -- appear in many hospitals in Baltimore and beyond on an ongoing basis. That is why we have a proactive and comprehensive infection control and surveillance system in place,” said Ellen Beth Levitt, a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Four other patients identified as having the organism are still being cared for in the unit and are in stable condition, Levitt said. They have been separated from other patients and they are being treated by a team with strict contact precautions in force, including the use of gloves and gowns, frequent hand washing and frequent disinfection of medical equipment and facilities. No new patients are being admitted to that unit for the time being, she said.
Acinetobacter baumannii is best-known for affecting military personnel who have been serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. The bacteria can live on surfaces like countertops, medical equipment and even cell phones for up to 12 days. Most strains are difficult to treat, because they are not affected by common antibiotics. However, the infection poses little risk to healthy people. It can cause a variety of illnesses, ranging from pneumonia to serious blood or wound infections. Acinetobacter may also colonize or grow in a patient without causing infection or symptoms.
Ongoing Problems at Walter Reed
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011508J.shtml
Ongoing Problems at Walter Reed
By Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t | Interview
Tuesday 15 January 2008
"Nothing has changed [at Walter Reed]. Same facility. None of the recommendations that I made have been implemented and to my knowledge they really aren't working on it."
Former Army Lt. and military nurse Doug Connor sat down for an interview with Truthout reporter Geoffrey Millard to share his experience before and after the Walter Reed Medical Center scandal broke.
Encouraged by the firings of top military officials as a result of the problems at Walter Reed, Connor spoke out about the dilapidated conditions at Walter Reed. He sent a letter to Gen. Gregory A. Schumacher with recommendations for improving conditions in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where there were equipment shortages and outbreaks of infectious bacteria, including extremely dangerous drug-resistant forms of Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that has been ravaging injured soldiers in Iraq and in domestic military hospitals.
The infection problems caused other units within the hospital to lose faith in the ICU's ability to care for surgical patients. Because of the infections, "the kidney transplant team will not recover their patients in the surgical ICU anymore," Connor said in the interview.
According to Connor, his recommendations were not acted upon. Instead, he claims that he was retaliated against. "I thought he would thank me for letting him know where there were areas that needed to be fixed ... I have been retaliated against because of the letters that I have sent out. It is pretty transparent ... Everyone that has seen what happened around me is just like 'yeah, they're going after you.'"
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http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011508J.shtml
Ongoing Problems at Walter Reed
By Matt Renner
t r u t h o u t | Interview
Tuesday 15 January 2008
"Nothing has changed [at Walter Reed]. Same facility. None of the recommendations that I made have been implemented and to my knowledge they really aren't working on it."
Former Army Lt. and military nurse Doug Connor sat down for an interview with Truthout reporter Geoffrey Millard to share his experience before and after the Walter Reed Medical Center scandal broke.
Encouraged by the firings of top military officials as a result of the problems at Walter Reed, Connor spoke out about the dilapidated conditions at Walter Reed. He sent a letter to Gen. Gregory A. Schumacher with recommendations for improving conditions in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where there were equipment shortages and outbreaks of infectious bacteria, including extremely dangerous drug-resistant forms of Acinetobacter baumannii, a bacterium that has been ravaging injured soldiers in Iraq and in domestic military hospitals.
The infection problems caused other units within the hospital to lose faith in the ICU's ability to care for surgical patients. Because of the infections, "the kidney transplant team will not recover their patients in the surgical ICU anymore," Connor said in the interview.
According to Connor, his recommendations were not acted upon. Instead, he claims that he was retaliated against. "I thought he would thank me for letting him know where there were areas that needed to be fixed ... I have been retaliated against because of the letters that I have sent out. It is pretty transparent ... Everyone that has seen what happened around me is just like 'yeah, they're going after you.'"
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