Hospital staff will sing while scrubbing up

Hands will be washed more frequently- often to the tune of a familiar ditty- at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center in Thousand Oaks.

Those who hear hospital employees singing "Happy Birthday" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" shouldn't be concerned. Actually, it means being at the hospital just got safer for those with low immune systems which might make them more susceptible to methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus.

According to a statement by the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Staph bacteria are one of the most common causes of skin infection in the United States and are a common cause of pneumonia, surgical wound infections and bloodstream infections. . . . The majority of MRSA infections occur among patients in hospitals or other healthcare settings."

According to officials at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center, these infections have been eradicated in the Netherlands. Los Robles, along with the Hospital Corporation of America, a group of 200 hospitals it's associated with, hopes to do the same here.

Well-washed hands are the key, said Diane Duff, inspection control practitioner at Los Robles. That's where the singing comes in.

Those entering a patient's room must first wash their hands for a minimum of 15 seconds, or the time it takes to sing a simple melody. That means everyone.

They must use warm water and the alcohol disinfectant foam provided, or use Purell hand sanitizer. Underneath the fingernails, between the fingers and the back of the hands must be washed. A paper towel should be used to turn off the faucet, Duff said.

"Patients are encouraged to make sure each person entering their room washes their hands and to not hesitate to ask them to do so if they do not," said Kris Carraway-Bowman, a hospital spokesperson. That means every doctor and every nurse- every person who comes in to fluff a pillow or give a drink of water. Then, they are to wash their hands again before they leave the room. Just wearing the same rubber gloves over their hands in and out of rooms doesn't count.

Penicillin was once used to fight staph infections, but in the late 1960s staph infections became resistant to penicillin, and some have now become resistant to other members of the antibiotic family, Duff said.

The infections aren't resistant, however, to thorough hand washings.

She said hand washing prevents 75 percent of the spreading of the infection. The remainder comes from handrails and other equipment that must be cleaned to protect one person's secretions from infecting somebody else.

Staph germs are carried by about 30 percent of the population. These same people have no symptoms, according to Duff.

Beginning Feb. 15, Los Robles will post signs telling visitors and caregivers to wash their hands. To protect other patients, everyone admitted to Los Robles will be tested for MRSA to make sure they're not a carrier, Duff said.

If they are, they will be isolated and those entering their rooms will take extra precautions, such as wearing gowns and gloves.

"We want everyone to be educated and mindful," she said.

Health & Wellness RSS feed