Valley Medical Center in Renton is planning to implement a new law requiring hospitals to take specific steps to prevent and control Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
The law, House Bill 1123, went into effect Jan. 1.
Hospitals must adopt a policy containing the following requirements:
• Risk assessment: Hospitals will be required to conduct a risk assessment to identify patients who may need MRSA screening.
• Testing intensive-care unit patients: Adults and pediatric intensive care unit patients will be screened for MRSA colonization within 24 hours of admission.
• Preventing MRSA transmission: Apply appropriate procedures for preventing a patient who tests positive for MRSA from transmitting MRSA to other patients.
• Rooming for MRSA patients: Implement a notification process to inform patients they may be roomed with patients who have MRSA or whose MRSA status is unknown.
• Patient notification and education: Every patient with a MRSA infection will receive oral and written instructions about aftercare and precautions against spreading the infection.
In addition, the law states that the Washington State Department of Health will receive data on MRSA from the normal coding process used to report diagnoses through the Comprehensive Hospital Abstract Reporting System (CHARS).
“We are, and historically have been very focused on preventing MRSA infections at Valley Medical Center,” Kathryn Beattie said, chief medical officer at Valley Medical Center. “We recognize the importance of this legislation.”
Prevention and control of MRSA
• Risk Assessment and testing: All adult ICU patients will be screened for MRSA within 24 hours of admission. Patients with a laboratory confirmed history of MRSA will be placed in a room with a sign stating “Contact Precautions.” Patients are not removed from isolation until specific criteria are met.
• Preventing MRSA transmission: Prevention of MRSA transmission requires a multistep approach. A “Contact Precautions” sign is placed on the patient’s door. Gloves and gown are required to be worn upon entry into the patient’s room and discarded upon to exiting the room to prevent contamination. Gloves are changed between caring for different sites on the same patient. Hand hygiene is practiced when changing or removing gloves and when entering or leaving the room.
• Rooms for MRSA patients: All patients identified with MRSA will be placed in a private room. In the event we need to house two or more patients together in one room, patients with MRSA will be placed a room with other MRSA-positive patients.
• Patient notification and education: Every patient with a MRSA infection receives oral and written instructions about aftercare and precautions against spreading the infection.
Staphylococcus aureus, often called staph is a bacteria commonly found on the skin of healthy people. Usually staph bacteria do not cause any harm, however, sometimes the bacteria will enter the body through a break in the skin and cause a staph infection.
Methicillin is an antibiotic often used to treat staph infections. MRSA is antibiotic-resistant staph bacteria. Most often, MRSA causes infections on the skin, but it can cause other infections like pneumonia, blood stream infections and urinary tract infections. MRSA infections look like sores (spider bites), boils, or a cut that is swollen, hot and filled with pus. MRSA is commonly transferred via touching the skin of someone who has MRSA, or using their personal items such as towels, washcloths, clothes or athletic equipment. You have a greater risk of getting MRSA if you are recovering from surgery or burns, have tubes in your body for medical treatment, or if you share needles. Frequent hand hygiene – washing with soap and water, or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer – is the most important control measure for MRSA.
