Infectious disease, Legionella experts urge hospitals to reduce infection, prote

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Infection control saves lives and costs, say Drs. Janet Stout, Betsy

McCaughey, and Bruce Farber during RID Infection Group Seminar in

Melville, NY. (Photo: Business Wire)

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Infectious disease, Legionella experts urge hospitals to reduce

infection, protect patients

NEW YORK, March 8, 2007 -- " Hospital infections affect two million

Americans every year, costing 100,000 lives and adding $30.5 billion

to the nation's healthcare tab, " said Betsy McCaughey, Ph.D.,

founder and chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths

(RID). " This issue is especially critical for New York right now, "

she said, because infection rates of New York hospitals will be made

public beginning in 2008.

Dr. McCaughey, Legionella expert Janet E. Stout, Ph.D., University

of Pittsburgh, and Bruce Farber, M.D., Chief of Infectious Diseases

at North Shore University Hospital, N.Y., met with New York-area

hospital executives and infection control professionals today to

discuss the latest medical and economic data on infections acquired

in the healthcare setting and provide solutions. The seminar, held

at the Hilton in Melville, NY, was sponsored by RID and the North

Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System with an educational

grant from Pall Corp.

Maureen and Marie Daly of Brooklyn, who lost their mother, Johanna,

to a hospital infection in 2004, lent a personal perspective to the

clinical discussion. Johanna Daly was a healthy, active 63-year-old

when she entered the hospital for repair of a fractured shoulder.

Within a few days of her discharge she had a raging fever and died

three months later from a severe infection caused by a combination

of deadly bacteria. Dedicating herself to the cause of reducing

hospital infection, Maureen Daly gave up her business and joined RID

full-time. " It means everything to me to be able to help prevent

this from happening to others, " she said.

Dr. Stout, a Microbiologist at the University of Pittsburgh

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, educated seminar

attendees about a less well-known, but no less deadly, source of

infection in healthcare settings. Conveying " Lessons Learned from

Legionella, " she took participants on a guided tour of hospital

water systems -- faucets and showers, ice machines, cooling towers,

humidifiers and even decorative fountains, where biofilm, Legionella

and other deadly microorganisms thrive.

" If you have it in your water, you're going to have it in your

patients, " she warned. " It's not even necessary for vulnerable

patients to come into direct contact with water, " she said. " They

can become infected just by breathing the aerosols, which take the

form of steam or mist from hospital showers and sinks. "

While Legionnaires' disease has been the subject of considerable

media attention due to several recent outbreaks across the country,

Dr. Stout highlighted other waterborne pathogens -- bacteria and

fungi -- that can be as dangerous to patients, including Pseudomonas

aeruginosa, Mycobacterium avium and Aspergillus fumigatus.

Infectious disease specialist and seminar moderator ph S.

Cervia, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics, Albert

Einstein College of Medicine, and Medical Director, Pall

Corporation, explained why disinfection is so difficult. " The

problem of eradicating waterborne microbes from hospital water

systems so that patients are not exposed to them is compounded by

the growing threat posed by amoebae that 'harbor' the microbes and

protect them from physical and chemical disinfection technologies, "

he said. " The microbes survive and multiply inside the amoebae and

are released into hospital water systems, where they can become a

source of serious infection. "

Infection Control Can Make the Difference

Dr. McCaughey, a leading national figure in infection prevention and

former Lt. Governor of New York, illustrated the cost-effectiveness

of infection control. Research shows that eliminating infections can

result in a 20-to-1 payback for the hospital within the first year

alone, with no or minimal capital outlay. " Good infection control

can make the difference between profitability and loss for an

individual hospital, " she said.

" Hospitals can ill afford outbreaks, " said Dr. Stout, underscoring

the financial impact. " A single outbreak of Legionnaires' disease

can cost anywhere from $880,000 to $1,630,000, not to mention the

cost to a hospital's reputation. " Dr. Stout reviewed state-of-the-

art solutions for reducing Legionella and other waterborne

microorganisms, noting that no single systemic disinfection

technology can completely and permanently eliminate these pathogens

from hospital water systems. " Protection for at-risk patients also

requires point-of-use filtration technology, " she said.

Experts Share Solutions, Success Stories

Dr. McCaughey focused on cost-effective measures to curb the

alarming rise in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA),

one of the deadliest germs responsible for hospital infection and

one of the hardest to treat. She presented success stories from

hospitals in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Iowa that realized

significant reductions in infection rates through simple screening

programs and rigorous enforcement of staff and equipment hygiene

procedures.

There is no more timely an issue than the importance of implementing

effective infection controls, according to Dr. McCaughey, because of

the larger impact that it can have on emerging threats such as

bioterror and bird flu. " In the event of a major outbreak, proper

procedures, rigorously followed, can help reduce infection in first

responders, healthcare workers and patients, " she said.

" Minimizing the risk of hospital-associated infections (HAIs) is the

highest priority of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, " said Dr.

Farber. " The epidemiology and virulence of HAIs change over time, so

it is imperative that healthcare providers have control strategies

in place to stay ahead of the problem. "

Dr. Farber, who advises on infectious disease issues throughout the

North Shore-LIJ system, added that many infections are the product

of novel therapies that are being used to treat diseases that in the

past were not amenable to therapy. The North Shore-LIJ Health System

has implemented a number of programs to minimize risks, in addition

to a myriad of standard policies and procedures that are already in

place to accomplish this goal. These include participation in the

nationwide infection awareness and education campaign being led by

the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI); a control program

for addressing so-called staph or MRSA infections, including the use

of high tech screening of high-risk patients; disinfection,

notification and isolation techniques to control Clostridium

difficile, a bacterium that can cause serious bowel problems;

employee education on hand hygiene and disinfection; surgeon-

specific infection rate monitoring; and computer tracking of HAIs.

The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths (www.hospitalinfection.org)

is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to providing

hospital administrators, caregivers, insurers, and patients with the

information they need to stop hospital infections.

The nation's third largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system,

the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System

(www.northshorelij.com) cares for people of all ages throughout Long

Island, Queens and Staten Island -- a service area encompassing more

than five million people. The health system includes 15 hospitals,

four long-term care facilities, a medical research institute, four

trauma centers, five home health agencies and dozens of out-patient

centers. North Shore-LIJ facilities house more than 6,000 beds, and

are staffed by over 8,000 physicians, 10,500 nurses and a total

workforce of about 37,500 -- the largest employer on Long Island and

the ninth largest in New York City. In recognition of its efforts to

reduce hospital-acquired infections, the North Shore-LIJ Health

System was awarded the 2006 Pinnacle Award by the Healthcare

Association of New York State (HANYS).

Pall Corporation (www.pall.com) is the global leader in the rapidly

growing field of filtration, separation and purification. Pall is

organized into two businesses: Life Sciences and Industrial. These

businesses provide leading-edge products to meet the demanding needs

of customers in biotechnology, pharmaceutical, transfusion medicine,

energy, electronics, municipal and industrial water purification,

aerospace, transportation and broad industrial markets. Total

revenues for fiscal year 2006 were $2.0 billion. The Company

headquarters is in East Hills, New York with extensive operations

throughout the world.

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