How hospitals keep patients, employees safe
In light of the tuberculosis exposure at Providence Memorial Hospital announced in mid-September, ABC-7 wanted to know how hospital officials prevent infections from spreading.
While Providence officials did not respond to ABC-7’s request to speak with them about their safety protocol — the infection control director at Del Sol Medical Center in East El Paso spoke Thursday about her hospital’s procedures.
Pat Mayberry stressed that their procedures are not unique to their hospital.
“All hospitals have patient safety as part of their missions and goals and we strive very hard to take care of patients,” she said.
Mayberry said Del Sol has a number of practices in place to protect employees and patients.
“The most simple is respiratory screening,” said Mayberry. “Everybody (who) comes into the hospital gets screened for acute respiratory illnesses. And that way we can quickly identify those who may be contagious and get them isolated quickly.”
Another protocol is requiring employees to receive a flu shot. ABC-7 was in the infection control office as a handful of nurses showed up to receive a flu shot. Once they received their vaccination, a sticker was applied to their identification badge, indicating they had been inoculated.
“Those people who are unable to take the vaccine or are allergic to the vaccine wear a mask if they are within 3-6 feet of a patient for the duration of the flu season.”
Mayberry said among all the things that can be done to keep people healthy and free from illness — the number one thing is hand-washing. She said 60 hospital staffers observe doctors, nurses and techs on each floor to see if they’re washing hands and document it on a smart phone app.
“Our goal is always 100 percent of the time for every patient, every time,” said Mayberry.
Mayberry also said the hospital has three different protocols for handling patients with infections — from isolating them, to removing any articles of clothing that was in contact with the infected patient, to isolating the patient in a room with a separate ventilation system.
