Washing Residents with Special Soap Is Helping to Stop Drug-Resistant Infections in Nursing Homes and Hospitals
A collaborative effort funded by the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is occurring in 50 healthcare facilities in California and Illinois. The simple strategy being used is aimed at stopping antibiotic-resistant superbugs that move rapidly from a hospital or a nursing home and spread through a community. It involves washing patients/residents with a special antimicrobial soap—chlorhexidine—that has been shown to reduce infections when it is used in daily bathing and handwashing.
Researchers in several Illinois nursing homes and long-term acute care hospitals are screening people for the CRE bacteria when they are admitted and using chlorhexidine for their daily baths.
According to the CDC, “at least 2 million or more people in the U.S. become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria every year, and about 23,000 die from those infections. Some of the most common bacteria in healthcare facilities are methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or CRE, often called ‘nightmare bacteria.’ E.Coliand Klebsiella pneumoniae are two common germs that can fall into this category when they becomeresistant to last-resort antibiotics known as carbapenems.”
It was noted in a Kaiser Health News analysis that over a four-year period, three-fourths of US nursing homes received citations for infection-control problems.
Compliance Perspective
Failure to implement infection-control protocols to prevent the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria may be considered substandard quality care resulting in citations and potential fines.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding infection control practices to ensure they are accurate and adequate, and consider testing/screening residents for CRE and MRSA when admitted or readmitted from a hospital.
- Train staff about policies and procedures for infection prevention and control, including use of personal protective equipment and handwashing before and after providing care.
- Audit by observing staff for competency in following required infection prevention and control protocols in each department.
