At our facility, we have to use disposable gowns with every patient who has or had MRSA. Even if a patient had MRSA years ago in a wound that is now healed, just having a history of it. We go thru so many gowns, they are hot to wear, and it takes so much of my time to put one on, take it off and throw it away, put one on, take it off and throw it away, etc. I know MRSA is a problem, but if they dont actively have it, does that make sense to you? If they are taken downstairs for a diagnostic test, they are exposing everyone anyway because they are not gowned. We use the same BP cuff on everyone that is not in isolation, which is stupid because anyone can have undiagnosed MRSA. Even if we take a food tray into their room, we have to put on a gown. Imagine trying to put on a gown while holding a tray.
Come work a day on my floor. Nearly every patient is on contact precautions for MRSA, with every other one being on precautions for MRSA/VRE as well, some CDiff, too. I'm used to the gowns by now and almost feel naked without one on. And yes, they are HOT. :)
we have gone so far that now we are taking the curtain in the room down after a contact isolation has been in there...do you keep or discard the supplies in the room?
we have gone so far that now we are taking the curtain in the room down after a contact isolation has been in there...do you keep or discard the supplies in the room?
I would think that is a no-brainer, but I don't know if MY hospital does...I'll have to check. Thanks for bringing it up.
We have locked boxes in each room that have a drawer with the pt's meds in it. They are saying that we can't keep the meds in the room anymore. So first they said "no med carts, the meds must be kept in the room unless they are in the pyxis! Too much chance of error if all the med boxes are kept together!" Very true. And now they are saying, "No! you can't keep the meds in the rooms, because they might get germy!" Which is also true. So now what???? And we dont' have servers outside the rooms, or any kind of hallway entryway area to use for that either.
I am an inpatient physical therapist at a VA hospital. We have the yellow gowns, gloves etc. and we have purell dispensers outside every room.
I don't get the precautions as the pt's family lives with this guy day in day out. They aren't tested. They leave the room. Once the pt is discharged the pt can come back to the hospital and touch anything they want, elevator buttons, railings etc... One of my coworkers saw one of her MRSA patients in the cafeteria picking through the fried chicken (healthy food here at the hospital). We now call it MRSA chicken. I am probably colonized (from what people tell me) which means my wife is probably colonized. Is my daugher (11 weeks old) colonized?
Use precaution, wash hands, keep extra clothes in car, try my best to prevent spread of MRSA.
After a surgery i had i was considered MRSA/VRE. I shared a room w a cancer patient when i was suddenly shifted away to isolation!! i didnt understand and they didnt explain much. i learned more about both after i did my own research after i was released. Although I believe all is well my understanding is once its there it never goes away but that is only a concern when you have an openwound perhaps from surgery etc.
what a nightmare, i hate the gowns but its like one post said... we wouldnt skip the condoms. we use all disposable cuffs on each patient its attached to the bed. . each iso room gets a new curtain and a quality housekeeping cleaning (cough cough) We only isolate if the mrsa is less than a year old. Infectious Disease in my hosp doesnt believe in isolating if older than a year.
LovingNurse, BSN, RN
200 Posts
Our ID doc suggests Bactroban for the nares and Hibiclens showers daily x 2 weeks for people (patients/family/staff) who are colonized.