(1) Almost two million (2,000,000) patients in the nation become infected after entering health care facilities each year and about one hundred thousand (100,000) die as a result of those infections;
 
(2) Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common staphylococcal infection that is resistant to powerful antimicrobial agents and is increasingly prevalent in health care settings;

(3) Because it can survive on cloth and plastic for up to ninety (90) days, MRSA is frequently transmitted by contaminated hands, clothes, and noninvasive instruments and the number of patients who can become infected from one (1) carrier multiplies dramatically;

(4) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one (1) in twenty (20) patients entering a health care facility carries MRSA and reports that MRSA accounts for sixty percent (60%) of infections in American hospitals in 2004, an increase from two percent (2%) in 1974;

(5) The nationwide cost to treat hospitalized patients infected with MRSA is estimated to be almost five billion dollars ($5,000,000,000);

(6) Multidrug resistant infections are preventable, and recent data support a multifaceted approach to successfully combat infections, including routine screening, isolation of colonized and infected patients, strict compliance with hygiene guidelines, and a change in the institutional culture to ensure that infection prevention and control is everyone's job and is a natural component of care at each patient encounter each day;

(7) Virtually all published analyses that compare the cost of screening patients upon admission and the adoption of effective infection control practices with the cost of caring for infected patients conclude that caring for infected patients is much more expensive;

(8) Routine screening and isolation of all patients with MRSA in hospitals in Denmark and Holland have reduced their MRSA infection rate to ten percent (10%) of their bacterial infections and, following a pilot program by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs' Pittsburgh Healthcare System that reduced MRSA infections in its surgical care unit by seventy percent (70%), all Department of Veterans Affairs health care facilities have been directed to develop and implement similar procedures;

(9) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the number of cases of health facility-acquired infections exceeds the number of cases of any other reportable disease, and more deaths are associated with health facility-acquired infection than several of the top ten (10) leading causes of death reported in the United States; and
 
(10) It is a matter of public health and fiscal policy that patients in Kentucky's health care facilities receive health care that incorporates best practices in infection control, not only to protect their health and their lives, but also to ensure the economic viability of Kentucky's health care facilities.

Other References: 

Health Watch USA policy report on "Hospital Acquired Infections the Necessity for Mandatory Reporting and Surveillance".   View Report

Consumer Union's (Consumer Reports) policy report on "Hospitals Should Screen Patients for MRSA to Prevent Infections".    View Report

Dr Phil, Nov1, 2008:  Excellent show with testimonials and input from the CDC. 
View Show Information