A Patient ’ s Perspective of HAIs
By Alicia Cole
Editor ’ s note
This article is the ninth in a yearlong series describing an industry journey led by environmental services and infection prevention toward better patient outcomes , quality and cost savings .
While no one could have imagined the scale and magnitude of the COVID-19 pandemic now plaguing us , advocates have long been pleading for more attention dedicated to infection prevention , increased resource allocation for environmental services and better training of hospital environmental services ( EVS ) staff . All legitimate concerns which the coronavirus made very publicly apparent to the entire world .
In a sad twist of ironic foreshadowing , the title of my 2018 keynote presentation to 6,000 infection preventionists and members of the Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology ( APIC ) at its 45th annual meeting was , “ Now More Than Ever , Patients Need You !” I could never have known how this clarion call would be a harbinger of days to come .
The campaign for cleaner , safer hospitals began for me in 2006 , though not in the traditional infection preventionist way . I earned my medical stripes playing a nurse on “ Beverly Hills 90210 ” and a doctor in the California statewide campaign to help stamp out childhood obesity . Outside of acting , my healthcare experience was limited to mammograms and acupuncture for menstrual cramps . When I entered the hospital in August 2006 for elective removal of two small fibroids , I had no idea the plot-twist my life was about to take . I share my story and the journey of recovery , living through not one , but multiple healthcare-associated infections ( HAI ). Statistics are important , however with each number , is a life , full of potential , hopes and dreams , that can all be changed in the blink of an eye , when evidence based processes and procedures break down and shortcuts are taken .
Following the procedure , I left the operating room with a fever , nausea , and chills – all classic signs of sepsis which were dismissed as “ a bad response to the anesthesia .” These symptoms never subsided and within days my abdomen was swollen , red and hot to the touch . I was in horrible pain . I never had surgery before , so my parents traveled in from Ohio to assist me during what was meant to be a two-week recovery . As my condition rapidly worsened , my mother closely observed each dressing change and looked after me while the nurse removed my bandages .
On the fifth day post-surgery , my mother noticed a tiny black dot which had suddenly appeared out of nowhere just above the inflamed incision . She immediately asked the nurse to call for the doctor , but the nurse was reluctant . In just the
one hour it took the doctor to return to my bedside , the black dot morphed into a quarter-sized pustule ; in that moment , my world and the trajectory of my life was forever changed .
Before we knew what hit us , my mother was wearing gloves and assisting my doctor , at his request , in a bedside surgical procedure . He instructed her on how to hold my mid-section steady while he pulled a plastic-wrapped scalpel out of his scrub pocket to reopen the incision . Together they pressed and squeezed on my skin , using 4x4 gauze fluffs to soak up the brown fluid that was oozing out of the opening . Next , he cautioned that I needed to be very still , and told my mother it was important to hold me steady . Then he cut open the two rows of sutures deep in my abdomen . Within moments , I cracked my right lower molar in half while clinching down in pain .
From that point forward my temperature rarely dropped below 103 . My two-day “ routine ” hospital stay descended into a two-month nightmare battle to save my life from the ravages of sepsis , Pseudomonas , MRSA , VRE , and necrotizing fasciitis . There were five additional surgeries , nine blood transfusions , and a near amputation of my left leg . During that time , I was in several different wards and interacted with multiple departments within the facility ( ICU , med-surg , transport , imaging , etc .)
Alicia Cole pictured with her parents after her hospitalization .
Patients have a 360-degree view of your facility ’ s services and the environment in which they are performed . This is what makes the patient perspective unique in evaluating healthcare .”
www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com • october 2020
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