Help Stop Healthcare Associated Infections!

Every year, our government reports on the quality of care we receive from the health care industry. Although there were many improvements, one area that is still concerning is the ongoing threat a patient faces of catching a life threatening infection in the hospital.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers. HAI’s have an estimated financial impact of over six and a half billion dollars every year to healthcare facilities nationwide.

And what about the death toll on human lives? The CDC published a report in April ’07 that estimated almost 100,000 people had died from HAI’s in 2002. And it is likely the number is actually higher, because, as the authors of the study point out, “No single source of nationally representative data on HAIs is currently available.”  The World Health Organization estimates that 1,4 million people are suffering from an HAI worldwide.

It is only recently that healthcare facilities were required to start reporting cases of HAI, and this lack of monitoring has led to a lack of urgency in eliminating the issue.  However, growing public awareness and concern has led to legislation at state and local levels requiring health care facilities to clean up their act.

To that end, Kimberly-Clark Healthcare has put together a website titled “Not on My Watch” to educate patients and health care professionals on how to protect against healthcare-associated infections.

Their mission is to put an end to this preventable and life threatening situation.

This announcement is brought to you by Outer Banks chiropractic care specialist,  Dr. Craig McGiffin.