please share your hospital experience - sterility

[Alysia]

Hi.

for those who wonder why I ask, please read here, on page 64 post 640 http://www.wegeners-granulomatosis.c...tinued-64.html


I will be more then grateful for every comment and sharing. if you write please say a word about the quality of that hospital.
1. when you are being admitted to hospital, do you get a sterile room/ isolation room, because of being immunocompromised as a result of the medications we are on ?
2. are there any special precautions that the staff keep while treating you, like masks, others ?
3. do the staff always use gloves or have to use them ?

Thanks anyway.

[gilders]

Hi Alysia,
1. I am not guaranteed my own room. When my Wegener's was at it's worse and I was on ctx (until they realised that I couldn't tolerate it) I had my own room.
2. I wouldn't say that there is any special precautions and definitely no masks have been worn no matter how bad my flares have been.
3. Gloves do get worn, but not always. Gloves are more for nurse, rather than patient protection in my opinion. Gloves can get dirty just as easy as hands. This means that you would need to put on a new pair of gloves after everything you touch to prevert contamination. I suspect gloveless nurses wash their hands more frequently than gloved nurses change their gloves.

Not sure if those answers were any use to you.

[Alysia]

Thanks for the input gilders. You are so kind.
its intersting observation about the gloves. I didnt think about it.
I still need to think about this issue more. It seems that everywhere they are not keeping enough sterility as they should. Too bad.

[Pete]

When I was admitted at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center, I was placed in a pressurized isolation room in infectious diseases. I had a private room. For the first four days, I never saw a full face (except for my wife). They always wore masks, used disposable gowns, and gloves. Once they determined I was not infected, they relaxed the protocol a bit - no masks, gowns, or gloves. Before anyone touched me, they always used hand sanitizer (dispensers in every room and in hallways and at nursing stations). I was diagnosed on day five. No downgrade to protocol as they now knew that I was susceptible to infections more than they were. I believe I got care at a very high standard.

[Alysia]

When I was admitted at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center, I was placed in a pressurized isolation room in infectious diseases. I had a private room. For the first four days, I never saw a full face (except for my wife). They always wore masks, used disposable gowns, and gloves. Once they determined I was not infected, they relaxed the protocol a bit - no masks, gowns, or gloves. Before anyone touched me, they always used hand sanitizer (dispensers in every room and in hallways and at nursing stations). I was diagnosed on day five. No downgrade to protocol as they now knew that I was susceptible to infections more than they were. I believe I got care at a very high standard.

Thank you for sharing Pete. Sounds the best. This is how they should treat immunocompromised patients. BUT I suspect that they were mostly afraid to get infected by you ? And not to keep you safe ? Was that the case ?

[Pete]

You're probably correct. Initially, they thought I might have had TB. After a couple days on IV antibiotics, they figured it wasn't that and the process of elimination to get to a WG dx began.

[whatthewhat]

"I will be more then grateful for every comment and sharing. if you write please say a word about the quality of that hospital.
1. when you are being admitted to hospital, do you get a sterile room/ isolation room, because of being immunocompromised as a result of the medications we are on ?
2. are there any special precautions that the staff keep while treating you, like masks, others ?
3. do the staff always use gloves or have to use them ?"

This has to do with Children's Hospitals, but I will off my opinions anyway :-)

The first time DD was admitted, prior to dx, she was put in a bone marrow transplant room, as they had no available isolation rooms elsewhere. She was there I think 4 nites before being transferred to an infectitious disease room. Almost every room at that hospital is single patient. On the bmtf, you would bootie, mask, & scrub upon entering the wing, scrub right outside the room and scrub in the room. Then the patient was examined ( or hugged!) And hen you scrub again on your way out. (My hands were bleeding.) Id rooms you never bootie, but you do mask, and you don't scrub on entering the wing but you do scrub and mask in what we called our room's foyer, and then again scrub inside the room. Once they determined she did not have anything contagious we could skip the mask. She wasn't immune suppressed very much at that point.

the 2nd hospital, where she stayed last November, after dx, she was put in a regular room, and that hospital has doubles. It was made clear she would not be around anyone infectious. In fact late one night a homeless teenager was moved in but got moved out real soon, due to worries.

In both hospitals there are signs everywhere saying patients / parents need to see personnel cleaning before examining patients. In the 2nd hospital that meant hand sanitizer.

Because they are pediatric hospitals they try to avoid masks and gloves (and their scrubs are always super cute lol).

[MikeG-2012]

When I was admitted in 2012, I wasn't given any special precautions. I was newly diagnosed and there to have more testing, biopsies, etc.

All workers wore gloves, used hand sanitizer, but no masks, gowns, etc. Nut, at that point, I was newly diagnosed and not on any immune suppressant medication.

I was in my own room, but the new hospital does not have any multi patient rooms.

Overall, I don't think I could have had better care than I received at the Monroe Clinic Hospital in Monroe, WI.

[Alysia]

Thank you so much Mike and wtw for the input. as a general assumption, it seems to me that it is a matter of the quality of the hospital. the better one, it will be more clean, more precautions, etc. it is just if one is lucky enough to be in the right hospital. I am glad for you and for Michelle that you did.
there is something which is beyond, which I sense from the posts, it is something to do about how much the hospital works like a "factory" for its own sake (more patients in the room, more money, etc) or how much it respects the patients and put the patient in the center. this is def your hospital Michelle, and I guess also WTW (Thanks God that childern get more caring, compassion and respect).
unfortunately this was not the case in Phil's hospital. they only care about themselves. full rooms to gain more money. less cxr's. not inviting wg expert, filthy floors, dirty lazy nurses.... I am starting again to be angry so I better stop here.
and it is not a matter of how crowded or rich the hospital is. my hospital is very poor, small and crowded. still, when I come for my rtx, in order to protect me, they save a place for me near the open balcony with lots of fresh air, they changed gloves all the time, and most of all : THEY LISTEN.

still very angry so I must write the following:
canadian weggies friends: if you can, STAY AWAY FROM FOOTHILLS MEDICAL CENTER IN CALGARY. ITS A DEATHTRAP.

[mishb]

Alysia, I was very lucky to be newly diagnosed and the registrar knew all about WG.

Australian hospitals are just like any others I'm afraid. Yes they do use hand sanitizer, but they are so overcrowded that we constantly hear of people being sent home too early, just to make room, or, of people still on beds in hallways.
People seem to be getting sicker and the local doctors cost money to go to, so everyone tends to go to the ER instead and this leads to overcrowding and long delays in the waiting rooms. They don't call them waiting rooms for nothing.

I tend to think that nurses are such wonderful people to do what they do (the vast majority of them).
We also have some very crabby nurses that don't tend to give you the time of day
Everyone is human and have bad days and good.

What I noticed in the letter that you received from the hospital, is that they are going to look at, and probably change, some of their procedures/protocols and this is something that you, and all of us, should be thankful for. This was your doing You were the voice that asked them to justify themselves and you have helped them see the need to change their systems.
This part of the letter is a fantastic outcome and means (to me), that no-one else will go through what Phil had too
The nursing/medical units that your letter was directed to, will certainly always remember that beautiful, and sometimes wild/crazy, lady from Israel, who fought for/stood up for, the man of her dreams.
Bringing this to their attention is the best thing that could have happened, not for Phil unfortunately, but for many others to go there in the future, and for this, we all thank you

I hope there will be a lot of changes to come out of what Phil went through, but sadly, we will probably never know.
It just shouldn't have happened in the first place.
Being in the medical field yourself, I would love to see you harvest your anger and challenge all hospitals to make the correct changes - for patient care in regards to cleanliness/sterility.

Sorry for my waffling.....but I say again, THANK YOU