Mrsa

Tweety, BSN, RN · Nov 2, 2004

Sounds like your staff needs some serious education. Kudos to you for stepping up to the plate and being the advocate.

BTW that patient should not have a roommate that comes and goes as she pleases. Look into that, even if it's only in the blood and urine, she shouldn't have a roommate. I might be wrong.

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Nov 2, 2004

I begged the DON to do an inservice. In the mean time, I printed the CDC's info and made everyone read it. People eased up a little, but I still ended up doing most of her care. But that's okay, because she was a really sweet lady, and I had the privilege of caring for her!

Blackcat99 · Nov 2, 2004

No it is not a good idea for a MRSA patient to have a roomate. At my LTC they put a post-surgery patient in a room with a MRSA patient and then the post-surgery patient got MRSA in his wound. :angryfire

Mister Chris, MSN, NP · Nov 2, 2004

After reading moliuchick's post, I have to share the dumbest thing. We recently had a resident with MRSA in her wounds and urine. ........................................... I gave her a hug and everyone thought I was nuts. Um, don't put your hands in her pee and you'll be fine!
Sorry for my rant. I just hate it when people don't get the care they deserve.

So nice to hear from a REAL nurse.

I am sure a lot of people will benefit from your care and love.

Yes educate the "others" an perhaps teach also a bit of compassion!

Sounds like they need it.

Love and hugs,

Mister Chris. :specs:

merricat · Nov 2, 2004

After reading moliuchick's post, I have to share the dumbest thing. We recently had a resident with MRSA in her wounds and urine. NONE of the CNAs would go in the room. One of them even got the bright idea to put "ISOLATION" on her door. Never mind that this person had a room mate who merrily came and went as she pleased. I come in after 2 days off, and NOBODY would take the room. "I have a kid" "I have a cut", all kinds of excuses. A housekeeper refused to clean the room, all kinds of craziness. The nurse finally got someone to take the room, and then the aide didn't give her good care. I figure if you are so afraid of cooties that you won't take care of someone, health care is not the field for you. I ended up taking the room almost every day after that, which was fine, since I eased my paranoia by going on the CDC's website and educating myself on MRSA. And during all this drama is a poor lady with dementia who doesn't understand why everyone comes in her room dressed like aliens and why everyone else gets hugs and not her. I gave her a hug and everyone thought I was nuts. Um, don't put your hands in her pee and you'll be fine!
Sorry for my rant. I just hate it when people don't get the care they deserve.

oh-- this has happened three times that i know of when i worked in LTC. but the aides were all unlicensed and in school to learn, so it was not reportable. (aides refusing to go into a mrsa pt's room or to care for him/her adequately). all with mrsa pts (or pts rumored to have mrsa). it enfuriates me. i think the aides need to be reported for job abandonment. i am totally serious-- serious as a heart attack! i would call the BON. i know we have to right to refuse some things, but i don't think this meets the criteria.... i don't think people who are going to do these things should be aides or nurses. and i think if they are going to make everything so difficult for everybody by thinking they can pick and choose thier assignments, they should just get reported. i also think it is highly unlikely the residents don't notice a difference in thier care.....on the other hand though, i personally do not have a problem with aides who want to practice contact precautions with a known mrsa pt. the gown, the gloves. that's not because i am a microbiology whiz who knows these germs are gonna scamper out of the (in this case) urethra and multiply all over her skin. i don't know for sure how much mrsa spreads around (probably varies?). it's just that i was told by RNs i trust that mrsa is contact (not universal or standard) precautions, so... plus i know staph, the mrsa germ, loves skin, and i know germs can migrate.... plus, if you wanna hug her, it seems safer with the gown because then you can take it off afterwards. and not get mrsa on anyone else, all of whom are probably immunocompromised. and hugs are so important, i think. i am glad you are out there hugging pts and being a good aide. i hug everyone too-- even with mrsa.

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · Nov 2, 2004

MRSA patients are placed on "contact precautions". They should be in a room by themselves or cohorted with another MRSA patient. However, our hospital has developed a policy that it OK to cohort a bedridden MRSA patient with another bedridden, non-MRSA patient as long as there is "3 feet" separation between the two (personal equipment and belongings included). The key issue here is preventing cross contamination between the two patients BY THE STAFF. If the MRSA or non-MRSA patient is up and ambulatory, it makes sense not to bunk with each other due to cross contaminating each other, via sharing items or providing simple acts of caring. It is highly inappropriate to put a MRSA patient in the same room with a surgical, open wound or immunocompromised patient, no matter what reason. Besides the contact precautions (washing hands, gloves, gowns when necessary, dedicated equipment to that MRSA patient such as BP cuff and steth), providing care and providing acts of caring to a MRSA patient is no different than to a patient who does not have it.

lovingtheunloved, ASN, RN · Nov 2, 2004

So nice to hear from a REAL nurse.
I am sure a lot of people will benefit from your care and love.
Yes educate the "others" an perhaps teach also a bit of compassion!
Sounds like they need it.
Love and hugs,
Mister Chris.

Actually, I'm not a nurse, I'm a CNA. But thanks.

And as for the room mate, The room mate was healthy as a horse. And the MRSA pt. had a foley, so it wasn't like her urine was splashing about. Should the room mate still have been removed?

happystudent, RN · Nov 2, 2004

Man! On my floor I care for pts that have MRSA, VRE,CDIFF, TB, HIV, HEP A, B and C! I wash my hands before I go in, put on gloves, perform my duties, take off gloves, wash hands and use foam........

Just last night, I had two pts on contact precautions! Whats this world coming too????? LOL!! :)

luvrn · Nov 4, 2004

At the hospital where I used to work MRSA patients were always either private or with another MRSA patient. If you were pregnant we always made sure you didn't have to care for the MRSA patient, but according to our ID Doc, no harm if you were healthy and young ect, only concern would be if high risk for baby born with spina bifa (spelling check here) and you would have to care for that wound. He gave few other examples, but we just simplied it and assigned any contagious patient to non pregnant staff. Other floors didn't follow us though.

General E. Speaking, RN, RN · Nov 4, 2004

After reading moliuchick's post, I have to share the dumbest thing. We recently had a resident with MRSA in her wounds and urine. NONE of the CNAs would go in the room. One of them even got the bright idea to put "ISOLATION" on her door. Never mind that this person had a room mate who merrily came and went as she pleased. I come in after 2 days off, and NOBODY would take the room. "I have a kid" "I have a cut", all kinds of excuses. A housekeeper refused to clean the room, all kinds of craziness. The nurse finally got someone to take the room, and then the aide didn't give her good care. I figure if you are so afraid of cooties that you won't take care of someone, health care is not the field for you. I ended up taking the room almost every day after that, which was fine, since I eased my paranoia by going on the CDC's website and educating myself on MRSA. And during all this drama is a poor lady with dementia who doesn't understand why everyone comes in her room dressed like aliens and why everyone else gets hugs and not her. I gave her a hug and everyone thought I was nuts. Um, don't put your hands in her pee and you'll be fine!
Sorry for my rant. I just hate it when people don't get the care they deserve.

You should remind the staff that at least you KNOW the patient has MRSA- what about the things that people have that you DON'T know about!