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Constant vigilance is required to beat infections.

U.S. Hospitals: Still Unsafe and Too Often Deadly

by Sherry Baker, Health Sciences Editor

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(NaturalNews) We’ve all heard some hospital horror stories over the years - tales of the wrong leg or breast removed, accounts of horrendous hospital-acquired flesh eating bacterial infections and reports of babies mixed up in the nursery and sent home with the wrong parents. But with all the publicity about these types of examples and the high tech, computerized record keeping and monitoring systems available to doctors and staff, hospitals are surely getting safer and safer, right?

Wrong, according to Johns Hopkins critical care specialist Peter Pronovost, M.D., Ph.D. In an article by Dr. Pronovost published in the Dec. 24 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), he points out that despite an increased emphasis on patient safety, little progress has been made in actually making hospitals safer places.

In a statement to the media, Dr. Pronovost pointed out an average adult will receive recommended therapy only 53 percent of the time while hospitalized. This explains, at least partially, the approximately 100,000 patients who die each year in the United States because of hospital error. “Imagine, America has some of the best doctors and medicine in the world, yet we are only getting it right half of the time,” he said. “It’s been almost 10 years since the Institute of Medicine published To Err Is Human, its treatise on the need for increased patient safety initiatives at hospitals. Yet we really haven’t made much progress.”

In his JAMA article, Dr. Pronovost says hospitals can improve patient safety by incorporating three principles. First, doctors must balance their autonomy with team-based standardized care protocols. Second, medical students and residents need to be trained to understand their roles as patient agents rather than autonomous decision makers. Dr. Pronovost also recommends that students from different clinical disciplines should train together in order to foster trust and teamwork. Third, he says the way in which evidence-based standards and protocols for treating patients are developed should be standardized and made clear. Groups developing these standards, according to Dr. Pronovost, should include representative patients, physicians, methodologists, regulators and payers to ensure that all points of views are reflected.

While changes in the way physicians are trained, work together and practice medicine based on well-thought-out standards could help improve hospital care, there is another major source of danger in hospitals that also clearly needs attention — infections. In fact, nearly one out of every 20 patients ends up with an infection during their hospital stay that is not related to the reason they came to the hospital in the first place. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) statistics show that in U.S. hospitals, healthcare-associated infections account for an estimated 1.7 million infections and lead to 99,000 deaths annually.

For more information on the CDC’s report on health-care related infections, visit: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/hai.html

A special light reveals deadly bacteria

About the author

Sherry Baker is a widely published writer whose work has appeared in Newsweek, Health, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, Yoga Journal, Optometry, Atlanta, Arthritis Today, Natural Healing Newsletter, OMNI, UCLAís “Healthy Years” newsletter, Mount Sinai School of Medicineís “Focus on Health Aging” newsletter, the Cleveland Clinicís “Menís Health Advisor” newsletter and many others.

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It used to bother me, not having medical insurance, but after articles like this, not so much. Between the sadistic prescription meds, that list deadly diseases as “side effects”, and the incompetence of doctors and other medical staff, I have no desire to be treated by western medicine.

Now, if I get a limb cut off, I imagine a good surgeon would be appreciated. But other than situations like that, I much prefer a more natural, holistic approach to health.

Or is that mistakes? After only making one misstep in last week’s Texas debate(that Xerox comment was a horrible moment) I thought the Clinton camp had learned their lesson. Don’t be mean to Barack Obama. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t make you look good, or strong or competent. It only makes you look-well-mean. It makes him look, cool, clam and collected because he’s not the one yelling and pointing fingers. He looks presidential and you don’t. You’d think some high priced politicos would have pointed this out by now.

Over the weekend, Clinton lashed out at the Obama campaign for distributing fliers in Ohio that criticized her position on NAFTA and healthcare. Was her over the top response really worth it?

The fliers were distributed in one state. Not my state. We’ve not gotten the fliers and I don’t know if they’ll make it here or not. NOW, I’m really wondering if she expects everyone to buy healthcare even if I can’t afford it. I’ve no idea but now I’m concerned. Afteall it’s what the fliers says. /sarcasm

Clinton should’ve defended herself on Ohio soil and not invited Anderson Cooper and Katie Couric to the party. Sure the issue would have gotten some national attention but certainly not to this extent. The accusations have now permeated not just the Ohio primary but the Texas primary and March’s Super Tuesday. Obama’s getting getting thousand dollar results for a dollar spent.

Mike Huckabee. Until recently, a name not often recognized, a face probably even less so. Now it seems that the little engine that couldn’t is beginning to pick up some Conservative steam, and may prove to actually be capable of chugging alongside the bigger locomotives (or should I say, “loco motives” … we are talking about Republicans, after all) in the race to the summit of that Iowan Caucus hill come January.

In particular, the trainwreck of Engines 911 and LDS at last month’s Republican YouTube debate seems to have given the struggling Huckabee Express a chance to do some catching up.

It’s not like Giuliani and Romney have totally derailed, by any means. But their distracting, non-stop, childish fray at the debate certainly gave Huckabee a great opportunity to distinguish himself from the pack by actually behaving like a grown-up. One that might be worth listening to after all.

So the Republicans began to think that perhaps this little engine’s coal might be worth stoking. Yikes. Thanks, kids. See what happens when you bicker?

I’m sure a win by a Southern Baptist preacher would be a Neocon’s wet dream. For me, of course, not so much. His present-day stance on the issues pretty much tells me all I need to know, so there’s really no need to dig up dirt from days gone by. And anyway, I’m riding the blue train. Red is simply not my color. All aboard!

Still, it is interesting to note that back in 1992, when running for the Senate (unsuccessfully, as it turned out), Huckabee suggested isolating people with AIDS from the general public, opposed boosting federal funding in the search for a cure and said that he felt “homosexuality is an aberrant, unnatural, and sinful lifestyle, and we now know it can pose a dangerous public health risk.”

Even though by 1992, anyone with half a brain (maybe that was the problem) knew that HIV and AIDS were not communicable to the public at large, Mikey said, “If the federal government is truly serious about doing something with the AIDS virus, we need to take steps that would isolate the carriers of this plague.”

In addition to the quarantine, he also thought it might be a fine idea, in light of the extraordinary amount already being spent on AIDS research by federal health agencies, to perhaps staunch that by asking Hollywood celebs to foot the bill for any additional funding. They do have deep pockets, after all, and he apparently felt that federal tax dollars would be better spent on other diseases. Those ones that might befall breeders as well as queers.

I’m pretty confident that by 1992 most of us were also well-aware that the disease wasn’t just a gay plague. But, then again, we’re talking about Mike Huckabee which brings us back to that “half a brain” thing, so go figure.

Of course now, under a presidential-candidate type of scrutiny, he touts that his administration will be “the first to have an overarching strategy for dealing with HIV and AIDS here in the United States, with a partnership between the public and private sectors that will provide necessary financing and a realistic path toward our goals.â€?

That’s pretty ambiguous. As far as I know, “necessary financing” means he has a plan for how best to cover the costs of quarantining and isolating the afflicted, because Lord knows that can’t be cheap!

Okay, I’ll admit that that may be cynically presumptious of me. A bit extreme, perhaps. Or a lot. Whatever. Just making a point that I find such rhetoric hard to swallow given his past history.

Still, Huckabee has yet to tackle that first hill in Iowa next month anyway, so even if he does make it to the top with an “I think I can” attitude (that boost of confidence in large part courtesy of Rudy and Mitt, in my opinion), there’s still a lot of rail left to ride.

I really don’t care which of the little red engines peaks first, frankly. It’s not all downhill after that, as there are still many more mountains to climb. I just hope in the final stretch, when the last Hill to conquer is of the Capitol variety and we’re left with only two final contenders to chug it out - one red and one blue, that the red one runs out of steam and gets its Conservative caboose kicked. Particularly if, by chance, that little engine indeed happens to be the Huckabee Express.

mike huckabee, iowa caucuses, rudy giuliani, mitt romney, election 2008, gay rights, aids/hiv, presidential election, iowa voters

Last August the bosses, aka the Board of Trustees, at Florida’s Palm Beach Community College came to the conclusion that it was simply not appropriate to extend health care benefits to the domestic partners of its homo worker bees.

Despite the fact that it wouldn’t have cost the school one additional thin dime, and that many of the nation’s largest corporations, including other universities and colleges, offer health insurance for their employees’ same-sex better halves, it apparently just seemed wrong somehow, I guess. Proposal rejected. Coverage denied. Judgement against the defendants, case closed. Next!

Fast forward to the present. What a difference a few weeks makes! Now those same folks seem to finally be coming to their senses. No, that boy-worker’s life partner still won’t be granted co-pay-only status at the doc’s office. He’s still full price because he’s a he. Get real. But, to give the bigwigs credit for at least taking a step in the right direction, they have determined that anyone who works for the college … anyone, even the queers … will have the option to enroll their pets in the college’s healthcare plan!

Via payroll deduction the cost will hardly be noticeable, and you can rest assured that your loyal companion’s health care needs will be covered, come what may. As long as the dependant is of the four-legged variety, of course. You’re bipedal significant other, no matter how loyal, if genitally similar to yourself will still have to fend for him or her self, I suppose. SOL there.

But your dogs, cats, even hedgehogs, frogs, guinea pigs, geckos, iguanas and sugar gliders (they are cute, I have to admit) are eligible for coverage, and will be well taken care of if in need of medical attention. Well, that’s certainly a weight lifted from the shoulders, no doubt. Too bad about that boyfriend or girlfriend, though. Maybe if they spent more time on all fours? Okay, we won’t go there.

Deidre Newton, a PBCC alumnus who is now VP of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council called the decision an outrage. “While many pet owners consider their dogs and cats part of their families, there is a basic disconnect when an employer will insure an employee’s pet but not an employee’s partner.”

And Deidre’s boss, council president Rand Hoch, concurs. “The only distinction I can see is one covers human beings in committed relationships, and the other covers animals in committed relationships.”

I adore my dog. He is loyal, loving and certainly benefits-worthy. If I happened to be on the PBCC payroll, I’d probably say “sign me up!” On the other hand, I also adore my (imaginary) boyfriend and life-partner (fantasy name) Drake. He, too, is loyal, loving and you would think would also be benefits-worthy. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. He wouldn’t qualify for coverage, even though he does hump my leg from time to time (God, I have a vivid imagination!) I like being single, but it’s fun to pretend every now and then. And Drake never gets sick, so it’s probably a moot point anyway.

domestic partners, same sex partners, domestic partner benefits, gay rights, health care benefits

Well, the government is simply fiscally overextended. Short on funds. Empty pockets, that’s the bottom line. Even with Old Man Winter knocking at the door, about 30 million families will be left in the cold this season. The government’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, only has enough funding to cover 16 percent of the low-income households eligible for the program. When you consider there are 38 million households needing assistance, well, that leaves about 32 million families who should promptly begin calling family and friends residing in warmer climes, making arrangements to crash at their place for the next few months.

Leave it to President Bush to reduce the budget for LIHEAP, by about half a billion bucks, despite the increase in energy costs. Of course, this is the guy who also earlier this month vetoed the bill that would have provided health care coverage for millions of children who currently are uninsured, to families unable to afford the absurdity that is their monthly family-coverage premium. Regretfully, the government can’t help you out, it’s just too expensive, no can do. Then again, in Dubya’s defense, we are kind of strapped for cash these days. He’s just prioritizing:

Cost of the War in Iraq

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Sick kids? Not number one on the list. Sorry. Heat-seeking families with winter just around the corner? Nah. Heat-seeking missiles, though, that’s another story. Money well spent!

P.S. On a final personal note, speaking of the needy … the other day I mentioned that I was hoping to be able to volunteer to help feed the hungry this Thanksgiving. Well, I may not be on the food service team, but I’m pleased to announce that I have been granted dishwasher duty at the Salvation Army on Turkey Day, for which I am indeed thankful. Hey, someone has to clean up. I’m happy to do what I can to help.

health care, poverty, health insurance, uninsured children, george w bush, veto, iraq war, low income families, energy assistance

Viva Viagra! That little blue magical pill. It’s been around for quite some time now, nearly ten years, making the males of our species once again the manly, virile love-making machines that is their destiny. Viagra to the rescue. Dissing the “Dys” in “Erectile Dysfunction”, with the rigid support of vascularly-challenged men everywhere. Transforming men from pony to stallion in as little as fourteen minutes, simply by popping a pill! No need to worry any longer about your ED, Mister. And with your new-found studly stallion status, you could no doubt give Mister ED some stiff competition!

So for the last decade or so, with the pill-popping ability to get it up and get it on, men and their respective partners have been happier campers. (Maybe that’s a strong assumption, there may well be some wives and significant others out there cursing Pfizer’s name.) Still, even with the known risks and side effects, guys have been more than happy to cross their fingers (depending on the activity at hand, of course) and take their chances.

Headaches really aren’t so worrisome. Guys never use that as an excuse anyway. And seeing the world with a “bluish tinge” for a few hours wouldn’t be so bad. Looking at the world with a different perspective isn’t such a bad thing. I guess finger-crossing worthiness would come into play for those taking nitroglycerine for angina, although I thought that was what they were hoping to get some of with the Viagra. But I’m no doctor and I failed Biology, so what do I know. Heart attacks? Well, at least they would die with a smile on the face. Of course, one would probably die with a similar smile if the ol’ pumper pumped its last pump after a helping of chicken fried bacon. (Chicken fried bacon? Come on, WTF?) Sometimes short-lived pleasure is worth the risk, I guess.

Then there are those pesky four-hour bouts of tumescence, and the blindness. I don’t know what to say about the four-hour thing. I think I’d personally be proud to have such stamina. My finger-crossing here would most likely represent a vote “for” rather than “against” that known side effect. Blindness would suck, though. That one might make me think twice, crossed fingers or no. I don’t really want to be relegated to carrying a walking stick for anything other than a fashion accessory. I’m sure I’d be very inefficient in using a stick to maneuver about. I’d probably leave a trail of bruised shins and thighs in public places. Might even put somebody’s eye out with my blind stick. Wouldn’t that be ironic?

One new bit of information released by the FDA just today, according to the Associated Press, that also might make me think twice about whether or not it’s worth popping a little blue pill for a red hot horizontal mambo moment:

“Viagra and other impotence drugs are about to bear new warnings that users may experience sudden hearing loss.”

Eh? What’s that they said? Sudden hearing loss? That might be a mood killer. Between the blindness and the deafness, I think being up for the occasion might be out of the question. Literally. Unless, of course, I also was inflicted (blessed?) with that four-hour dilemma. Then I might consider it, although that would be a hard decision.

I’d probably still pass, though, crying my blind eyes out about those 240 minutes of wasted opportunity. But honestly, I couldn’t see where I’m putting that thing anyway, and if I got off-track somewhere in the process, wouldn’t even be able to hear the necessary corrective instructions. Hardly worth it. So I’d just sit there and weep, the sympathetic and consoling words of my neglected partner falling on truly deaf ears, and prepare myself for a major onset of blue balls, lasting for up to four hours. (Gotcha with that last link! Get your mind out of the gutter. It’s getting in my way. Fun to watch, though, huh?)

Are we such horndogs that we’re willing to take such chances? I know all medications, prescription or not, have potential reactions and side effects, most of which are of no threat to the general public. Even foods, of course, can have severe and even deadly side effects in certain people, and I understand the need for warnings. Everyone has to eat, and many medications are necessary for well-being, but for sex? It just seems weird to me, but maybe I’m just not one of those guys who thinks with his head. Instead, I think with my head. I’ll take prescription medicine if necessary for whatever various ailments might come along, but even then I don’t like to do so. At risk of becoming a modern day Helen Keller, though, just for a roll in the hay, well, it hardly seems worth it to me.

I tried the little blue wonder once. I didn’t know about the blindness or, of course, the newly discovered sudden hearing loss at the time. I’m sure I’d be fine if I wanted to try it again. My world didn’t turn blue, my head didn’t throb (well, that’s certainly a half-truth), and alas, much to my dismay, I didn’t maintain for four-plus hours. I don’t think I’d take it again, though. In my older, impotent years, my thinking has changed and I believe that we’re all overly-medicated … for everything.

If I can’t get it revved up without putting money into Pfizer’s coffers, I’d rather just get comfy on the couch, switch on the TV, and enjoy an old classic ’60s episode of Mister ED, for example. Unfortunate name, that, given the stallion that he was. But at least by accepting my own ED without resorting to potentially blinding and deafening enhancements, even if unable to participate in a raunchy, randy diversion, I’m assured of still being able to turn on the tube and watching Wilbur and Mister ED in action. The pointy blind stick wouldn’t be much help when it comes to watching TV, really. I’m also assured of being able to hear whatever words of wisdom Mister ED might have imparted from back in the day. He was a talking horse, after all. I’m sure he had something to say that I wouldn’t want to miss. So for now, I’ll choose to pass on the magical V and just hang. It’s really not such a hard decision.

viagra, viagra hearing loss, viagra side effects, fda, drug side effects, mister ed, erectile dysfunction

Finally, it’s October! National Popcorn Poppin’ Month! I thought it would never get here. I do love my popcorn, with extra butter, please. Not the microwave popcorn version, that’s for lazy folks. Okay, I’m sometimes lazy, so I confess that I usually have a box of Orville’s “This Side Up” bags in the cupboard in case of emergency, for a quick fix. But the nuked version certainly doesn’t compare to a big bowl of stovetop-popped ’til the lid comes off the pot, real Land O’Lakes butter-drenched popcorn. So in honor of this most fabulous of national observances, I resolve to remain a purist through the end of the month.

Unfortunately, popcorn month usually passes with little recognition. Not a lot of attention seems to be given to the celebration of exploding maize. Perhaps due to an insufficient promotional budget, who knows? I’m sure, in time, though (cross your fingers), things will change. It might be tough to get an edge on the competition, however. October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Competing with the pink might be tough.

October is awash in pink. T-shirts, wristbands (all the rage!), hats, underwear (whoops, maybe that last one is just me.) Of course there are those pink ribbon magnets, too, and you know I find those things annoying, regardless of the cause. Just my personal pet peeve. Seems to me like a “stick it and forget it” kind of thing. Not like a bumper sticker, yard sign, or even a ribbon worn on the lapel or tied around an old oak tree. Those things require a conscious decision regarding placement for best effect, a little bit of thought and effort. The magnets, though, I always assume are just tossed on a random fender and forgotten. But I digress.

October being both popcorn-poppin’ and breast cancer awareness month is actually cool, though, because I not only love popcorn, I also love breasts. Not in any sexual way, of course … ugh. Let me make that clear! My gayness seems to get in the way somehow, so I love breasts selectively. Like my best friend Chele’s bosom buddies. Those mammoth jugs are a part of her, so yeah, I gotta love ‘em. Unfortunately, she was just recently diagnosed with, you guessed it, breast cancer. So this October I’ll have more to consider than whether to pop the white or the yellow kernels (although I honestly can’t tell the difference.) I’ll also need to consider how to be the best friend I can be during this time; when to be there, when to call, when to shut up, when to simply back off! Lord knows I don’t want to piss her off. Been there, done that, it ain’t pretty. Love her, though, and want to be there for her. She knows I always will be.

When I learned of Chele’s big C diagnosis I, of course, put the popcorn on the back burner (get it?), and, as I am prone to do, Googled all things cancer. Hypochondriac that I am, and after extensive hours online, I’m now convinced that I also have a variety of cancers! All I really wanted to learn about was breast cancer, not really a personal concern, but damn those links!

Still, it is Breast Cancer Awareness month, not Doug’s I-Think-I-Have-Multiple-Cancers Awareness month, and I did find this New York Times article that I thought I would share. It dispels several myths about the disease, and certainly is worth reading.

So to all of the women out there who are breast cancer free, be sure to not take for granted that you have nothing to worry about. Just ask Chele. Get the checkups, the mammograms, do the self-exams, whatever it is you breasted ones are supposed to do. I don’t know how you ladies walk around with those things. But if you’ve been neglectful, what better month than October to play catch up? If nothing else, give yourself a self-exam. You might even enjoy it, and you could probably get it done in the time it takes to pop a batch of popcorn.

By the way, October is also Window Covering Safety Month. Time to check your blinds. FYI.

breast cancer, women’s health, breast cancer awareness, popcorn