Morgan Hospital Looks To Address MRSA

Tuesday October 30, 2007
Morgan County

The growing concern over Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is leading the county's healthcare providers to increase prevention and education about the antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Infection Control Coordinator Deann Skaggs told Morgan Hospital and Medical Center board members at their regular meeting Monday night that the recent spike in reports of community acquired, or CA-MRSA, were growing steadily, and the hospital has treated more cases this year than ever before.
"Until recently, it's always been associated with health care facilities," Skaggs explained.
Parents across the state are wary of a sudden increase in the number of reported MRSA infections showing up in school-aged children. Last week, 14 cases of CA-MRSA were reported around the state, including several members of Shelbyville High School's football team.
Skaggs said 85 percent of MRSA cases were associated with health care facilities, that is, the person diagnosed with MRSA was in a hospital or nursing home setting, or had a family member who worked or was in a hospital or nursing home setting.
Last week, Morgan County health officer Dr. John Reynolds confirmed there had been a recent report of a student with CA-MRSA at Brooklyn Elementary School, but said the school had already disinfected that school.
Skaggs said cases of CA-MRSA were very rarely fatal, and until recently had often been misidentified as a spider or insect bite.
"Very few of those (infected) are being admitted to the hospital," she said. "Before, they would come in and they wouldn't be cultured (to see if it was MRSA), but more and more, we have an increased awareness."
Board members were also told about changes in Medicare policy that no longer allow patients to billed as "under observation" for any condition, instead the hospital would be switching to a system where patients would be put in an intensive care area for expedited testing that would also function as a way to look patients over more thoroughly before they are admitted as in inpatient to the hospital.
Morgan Hospital CEO Tom Laux said it would also help catch "preventable events" that Medicare would no longer pay for, such as treating patients for bed sores.
"This will help us (assess) a patient's condition before they come in," Laux explained.
Laux said the expedited testing would also include taking samples and testing for MRSA in patients who were suspected of having a staph infection.
In other hospital business, interim Chief Financial Officer Joseph Kubala told the board that hospital admissions were down over last year, reflecting a nation-wide trend that Laux said was happening to half of all hospitals.
He explained the three reasons research showed the downward trend. The first was an increase in the use of flu vaccinations, so there were fewer severe flu cases.
"Which is a great thing. It's our mission. But on the business side, we have fewer patients," he said.
The second contributor was an increase in technology, such as cancer treatment and less invasive surgeries, that allowed more outpatient treatment. He noted that about 68 percent of Morgan Hospital's patients were outpatients in the past year.
"What you have going on is an industry shift to outpatient care," he said.
The third factor Laux attributed to falling patient numbers was an increase in Health Spending Accounts with a high deductible for patients, leading them to not seek healthcare right away because of out-of-pocket expenses.
"The nature of our business is changing," Laux said. "For our facility and for the industry nationwide."
Finally, hospital Chief of Staff Dr. Warren Gray said last week's "Early Detection and Advancements in Breast and Prostate Cancer Care" seminar at the hospital was a great success, with several people attending, including a couple who drove to Martinsville from Anderson to hear breast surgeon Dr. Robert Goulet Jr. and Regional Cancer Center medical director Dr. William Dugan Jr. talk about cancer treatment options.
"There are people seeking these answers, so its' a very good community service," Gray said.