My father died in February 2007, not from the stroke he had, but from hospital acquired infections, including MRSA. He got every one of those infections from a local hospital. The doctors kept giving him stronger and stronger antibiotics, and my dad just got to the point that he couldn’t fight them off anymore. He died from a hospital-type of pneumonia, fighting for every breath.
Unlike the family you mentioned, we followed all the hospital isolation procedures when my dad was put on isolation, including gowns, masks, gloves. But we did have a problem with the hospital staff following the isolation procedures. My mother and I both have worked in the health care field as nursing assistants, in both hospitals and nursing homes. We know about isolation procedures. We observed many instances where staff entered my dad’s room to provide care for him without even gloves on, when plenty of gloves, etc. were right outside of his room. We had to remind some of the staff to following the isolation protocol. We even had to report them sometimes, although nothing to my knowledge was ever done. If I seem like I am criticizing all health care professionals, please don’t take it that way. I’m just saying that not all nurses, doctors, etc. follow their own procedures.
I’m all for ANY additional precautions to prevent hospital acquired infections, if there’s a chance that it may save a life. I had no idea that hospital acquired infections were so prevalent in hospitals until the nightmare with my dad. It is a lot worse now than 10 years ago, when I worked in a hospital; it’s become an epidemic. In the future, if I ever have to go to a hospital, nobody is even going to touch me until I see them wash their hands at the sink and put on a pair of gloves. That is, if I’m conscious. Am I going to be a difficult patient because of that? Maybe so. But I want to be able to walk out of that hospital better than when I came in, not worse like my poor dad.
I know exactly how you feel, I know exactly what you went through.
Bedsores are also an infection risk. I know a man that died from osteomyelitis he got as the result of the most egregious neglect. The bedsore exposed his lumbar spine. He had money and good insurance.
This happens to a greater extent in places like Florida where elderly patients have little or no family nearby to keep the heat on the staff to care for them attentively.