How bad is the isolation problem where you work?

[Marie_LPN, RN]

We have quite a few people on MRSA and VRE isolation on the floor, and while i see the CNAs and the nurses wearing everything to go in the room, quite a few DOCTORS aren't putting ANY PPE on when they go in the room. Touch the pt., their covers, bare handed, then not even stopping to wash their hands or a even a squirt of Purell, and less than 15 seconds later going into a surgical pt.'s room! Yet the nursing staff is preached at and threatened with written warnings if they don't.

I've wrote my concerns down (weird how some new MRSA cases popped up in the past few days, that have the same Dr.'s name in common) and i'm working on a letter to the VP and Infection Control. But how bad of a problem is it where you work that staff isn't complying with it? And what's your policy concerning it?

[violetrose]

I work in LTC, ISOLATION we don't use it anymore. UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS is our procedure, what we do depends on the diagnosis. If in a wound, it's covered with dressing, if no active drng outside the dressing we generally don't do anything different just good handwashing. Of course when doing the treatments or exposed to the source gloves are always used. Infection control nurse tells us that most cases are colonized so no need to put them on tradional isolation anymore; We inform all staff of precautions, we are not allowed to post signs because of the dignity/issues. When there in the hospital they are on full isolation, we get them in we our facility we aren't doing anything different. I'm confused !!!

[pwp1289]

Had A Large Problem With Icu Pts Coming Down With Mrsa/vre--the Place Was Scrubbed Top To Bottom And So Forth--so What We Do Now Is Everyone Has Surveilance Cultures Done When Pts Enter And Leave The Unit--and Many Times Pts Already Have + Cultures And Have Been On Reg Floors All That Time !!!!! Do You Know That Each Hospital Has Its Own Strain Of Mrsa ?????so Each Hospital Gets Equal Blame If Pts Are Transferred Back And Forth.........