Questions and Answers

guy is sitting in a wheelchair with a mask on outside the TV room. At first I was confused. Who is he and what is he doing there? Then I realized he was my patient. Oh, boy. Now I have to know what he is doing there. I approach cautiously trying to gauge his cognitive abilities.
"What are you doing out here, sir?" I ask.
"Will you open the gate?" he responds.
"Um, what gate?"
"You know, the gate," he stops and squints as he searches for words, "the one to the world."
He motions for me to follow him, so I do. It turns out he wants me to open the door to the rehabilitation patient's smoking area (yeah.. I know.. what they really need to be doing).
"You know, it might be too cold out there," I warn. It might be Arizona, but it is chilly at 2000 hours. He is still very insistent, so I open the door for him.
As the sharp wind rushes in, he pauses, "Too cold."
That is what I thought.

That was only one interesting event concerning this man.

It turns out that Bob (as I shall call him) has MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus - try saying that three times fast). This infectious bacteria is a great concern to the health care community as it is a popular nosocomial infection. Precaution are used to prevent the spread of the bacteria, but it still manages to run rampent.
Bob was wandering our halls. Let me put this in perspective. A man with a highly contractable bacteria was touching railing, doors, walkers, wheelchairs, ice containers, counters, and a sundry of other items with nothing but a mask on to protect others from infection. I talked to my nurse about it who was very nonchalont about this situation.
"Shouldn't he be in his room," I ask.
"He won't stay," she responds.
"Oh."
Now, where I work, we are not allowed to use restraints, none, whatsoever. That includes bed rails. (Yes, we have gotten many complaints about that one. "I'm going to fall off!")
So, there is nothing I can do except try to keep his mask on his face. However, he seems to like taking it off no matter how many times MRSA and the fact that he has it is explained to him.

It is hard for me to see circumstances like this one (which is not rare where I work). I am fastiduous about universal precautions and hand washing. No wonder MRSA spreads so rapidly and kills so many. It would make me feel better (until I got sick with an unexplainable illness) if I did not know that microorganisms existed.

How often do you wash your hands a day?

Wash your hands!
Elizabeth Cheryl
Ellie, Connie,
Bets, Bubbly,
Firecracker, Rosie,
Squeaks, Twitchy,
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E, & Liz!