infections kept under wraps??

[Guest guest]

Well, not exactly. I messaged the health reporter at the newspaper

where I work, as it sounded an interesting topic. She messaged me

back this morning with the text of an article she wrote, which we

published in March of this year.

It's just that I don't always retain what I read... but blame my

ignorance on me, not some other sinister forces...

Thursday, March 25, 2004 Edition: 01, Section: B, Page 01

Metro Jail to screen for staph infections

Procedure comes as result of visit by physician during civil rights

investigation

By xxxxxx

Staff Reporter

A nurse practitioner and a licensed practical nurse have been hired

on a temporary basis to screen inmates at Mobile County Metro Jail

for a certain kind of staph infection, officials said.

The idea for the screening emerged when a physician visited the jail

as part of a civil rights probe by the U.S. Department of Justice,

said Jim Rossler, an attorney who represents Metro Jail in some

matters.

The physician, who visited in late September, suggested that the jail

establish a protocol for MRSA - the abbreviation for a type of staph

infection that is resistant to commonly used antibiotics - because it

is becoming a problem in many jails, Rossler said.

Cases of MRSA have been associated with crowded living conditions,

and clusters of MRSA skin infections have been identified among

inmates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rossler called the survey a precautionary measure and said so far it

has yielded " no report of any problem, which is good news. "

The nurses are screening inmates, reviewing test results, identifying

those with MRSA and ensuring complete resolution, educating all

inmates and staff and putting in place a tracking system for MRSA,

Rossler said.

The nurse practitioner and licensed practical nurse are being paid

$60 per hour and $28 per hour, respectively.

County officials decided to contract with lin Primary Health

Center for the extra nurses because they thought it would be better

to dedicate people to the task, rather than letting the jail's

current medical staff get to it when they could, Rossler said.

The jail employs three shifts of full-time nurses and has a medical

director who is a physician, as well as doctors who visit the jail,

Rossler said.

Dr. Ramsey, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at

the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, said he will

conduct an informative session about MRSA with jail staff April 10.

He said he has occasionally given advice over the phone to the jail's

nursing staff, but the April education effort will be more

formalized.

The Department of Justice probe, which covered the use of force and

restraint devices and medical care, among other things, was spurred

at least in part by the case of Carpenter, a mentally ill

inmate who died from a flesh-eating bacteria in the Mobile County

jail in 2000. Wounds caused by ankle and wrist restraints provided

the entry points for the bacteria that killed him, according to his

autopsy.

Carpenter's two teenage daughters will receive about $350,000 each in

a partial settlement of a lawsuit over their father's death. The

total payout will be $1.45 million.

Rossler said MRSA was not a factor in Carpenter's death.

But the Department of Justice probe connected with his death brought

to Metro Jail the physician who suggested the MRSA screening program.

Dr. Bert Eichold, chief health officer of the Mobile County Health

Department, said he thinks the inmate screening is " a good idea. "

Most hospitals have monitoring programs for MRSA and have much better

outcomes as a result, he said.

" If you don't look for stripes, you'll never see a zebra, " Eichold

said.

Otherwise healthy people with no open wounds can have staph bacteria

in their bodies without becoming ill, according to Eichold. But

those " carriers " can unknowingly spread the bacteria to those who are

at risk of infection.

People who have compromised immune systems or who have open wounds -

such as those who have just undergone surgery - have the potential to

become very ill if they are infected.

[Guest guest]

Well, not exactly. I messaged the health reporter at the newspaper

where I work, as it sounded an interesting topic. She messaged me

back this morning with the text of an article she wrote, which we

published in March of this year.

It's just that I don't always retain what I read... but blame my

ignorance on me, not some other sinister forces...

Thursday, March 25, 2004 Edition: 01, Section: B, Page 01

Metro Jail to screen for staph infections

Procedure comes as result of visit by physician during civil rights

investigation

By xxxxxx

Staff Reporter

A nurse practitioner and a licensed practical nurse have been hired

on a temporary basis to screen inmates at Mobile County Metro Jail

for a certain kind of staph infection, officials said.

The idea for the screening emerged when a physician visited the jail

as part of a civil rights probe by the U.S. Department of Justice,

said Jim Rossler, an attorney who represents Metro Jail in some

matters.

The physician, who visited in late September, suggested that the jail

establish a protocol for MRSA - the abbreviation for a type of staph

infection that is resistant to commonly used antibiotics - because it

is becoming a problem in many jails, Rossler said.

Cases of MRSA have been associated with crowded living conditions,

and clusters of MRSA skin infections have been identified among

inmates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Rossler called the survey a precautionary measure and said so far it

has yielded " no report of any problem, which is good news. "

The nurses are screening inmates, reviewing test results, identifying

those with MRSA and ensuring complete resolution, educating all

inmates and staff and putting in place a tracking system for MRSA,

Rossler said.

The nurse practitioner and licensed practical nurse are being paid

$60 per hour and $28 per hour, respectively.

County officials decided to contract with lin Primary Health

Center for the extra nurses because they thought it would be better

to dedicate people to the task, rather than letting the jail's

current medical staff get to it when they could, Rossler said.

The jail employs three shifts of full-time nurses and has a medical

director who is a physician, as well as doctors who visit the jail,

Rossler said.

Dr. Ramsey, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at

the University of South Alabama College of Medicine, said he will

conduct an informative session about MRSA with jail staff April 10.

He said he has occasionally given advice over the phone to the jail's

nursing staff, but the April education effort will be more

formalized.

The Department of Justice probe, which covered the use of force and

restraint devices and medical care, among other things, was spurred

at least in part by the case of Carpenter, a mentally ill

inmate who died from a flesh-eating bacteria in the Mobile County

jail in 2000. Wounds caused by ankle and wrist restraints provided

the entry points for the bacteria that killed him, according to his

autopsy.

Carpenter's two teenage daughters will receive about $350,000 each in

a partial settlement of a lawsuit over their father's death. The

total payout will be $1.45 million.

Rossler said MRSA was not a factor in Carpenter's death.

But the Department of Justice probe connected with his death brought

to Metro Jail the physician who suggested the MRSA screening program.

Dr. Bert Eichold, chief health officer of the Mobile County Health

Department, said he thinks the inmate screening is " a good idea. "

Most hospitals have monitoring programs for MRSA and have much better

outcomes as a result, he said.

" If you don't look for stripes, you'll never see a zebra, " Eichold

said.

Otherwise healthy people with no open wounds can have staph bacteria

in their bodies without becoming ill, according to Eichold. But

those " carriers " can unknowingly spread the bacteria to those who are

at risk of infection.

People who have compromised immune systems or who have open wounds -

such as those who have just undergone surgery - have the potential to

become very ill if they are infected.