By Healthcare Facilities Today

There is a striking similarity between the recent budget crisis and infectious outbreaks, according to an blog by Jason Tetro on the Popular Science website.

Healthcare associated infections or hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are associated with an uncontrolled spread of a pathogen inside the walls of the institution. They can lead to significant costs to control their spread and may require redistribution of resources or even outright shutdowns of wards and departments, the blog said. 

But unlike government, which may encounter these heightened states of concern at most a few times a year, the predicament of HAIs has been a continuous concern of healthcare for centuries, Tetro wrote. As far back as the 1700s, HAIs had been recorded as being a significant cause of illness and death. More intriguing than this is that around the same time, they were considered to be a preventable event. 

 To prevent HAIs from occurring, there are usually two departments involved. The first is the infection prevention and control department (IPC), which is staffed with academically-trained professionals. The other is environmental services (ES), which is comprised with trade workers who do the actual cleaning the institution. Their job is to work together towards a similar goal. Unfortunately, as history has shown, this is where the problems start, the blog said.

The issue stems from a top-down approach to infection control. Experts have continually stressed that IPC has control of the facility and requires the ES staff to perform tasks that align with good infection control. Yet, there is a significant lack of trust in ES leading to the potential for blame in the case of an HAI, Tetro wrote. ES pushes back with the realization that they are an important part of infection control although they are for the most part regarded as inconsequential. They also counter that healthcare professionals are not adhering to their own infection control requirements, such as hand hygiene and should not be considered scapegoats. 

The rift leads to a separation of the two sides and the lack of a congruent effort until an HAI occurs. When that happens, they all work together to rid the building of the pathogen. Yet that harmony is short term as soon after, the blame game seems to take over and the rift is re-established until the next time. 

Like Washington, many healthcare institutions are facing fiscal challenges and that they are trying to be inventive in their approaches. But for George Clarke, this is an unacceptable reason considering the fact that the costs of a prevention program are less costly than controlling infections, Tetro wrote. Clarke, of the UMF Corporation, is an advocate for an approach that offers both an equal voice and responsibility to all parties. By following this model of infection prevention and control, even the toughest of the pathogens can be eliminated. 

“We shouldn’t be shifting responsibilities on a whim or a budgetary line item. Besides, a proper multimodal program is cost effective. Multiple studies have shown that the number of HAIs can be reduced by more than 30% simply by adding one person per shift whose sole job is to disinfect people-contact-points. Think about the savings versus the apparent costs, ” Clarke said in the article.

As with the problems in Washington, only time and consequences will tell how the situation unfolds. In the meantime, people can do their part by asking questions of their healthcare professionals and ensuring that when they enter the institution, there is a system in place to keep them safe.

Read the blog.