Having surgery of any kind can be frightening. You can't help thinking about what may go wrong. One thing you shouldn't have to worry about is being attacked by ants. But this is exactly what happened to 76-year-old Cornelius Lewis recently at the Gulf Coast Medical Center, according to his son, Neil Lewis. The senior Mr. Lewis was reportedly bitten "a couple hundred" times before a nurse discovered the problem. He was then moved to another ICU room, which was also infested.
Our Fort Myers injury lawyers fight for the rights of nursing home and hospital patients who have suffered from neglect, abuse or malpractice. As nursing home neglect and abuse attorneys, we know patients are often most at risk for such conditions in area nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Whether or not an ant infestation in the ICU constitutes malpractice or negligence, it certainly should serve as a warning of the increasing problems regarding infections and inadequate hygiene in health care facilities.
Patients of healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and nursing homes, deal with a variety of neglect issues. For example, hospitals have been plagued by deadly bloodstream infections that are easily preventable, yet continue to proliferate because facility administrators fail to adequately address the problem, according to a recent Washington Post.
Approximately 80,000 patients per year develop bloodstream infections caused by catheters that are either improperly prepared or left in too long. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 30,000 patients die as a result.
These infections, however, can be prevented. Taking steps such as using sterile masks, hats, gowns, gloves and patient drapes, cleaning patients' skin with antiseptic, putting a sterile dressing over the catheter site, and even simply washing hands have all proven effective.
Preventing infections has monetary advantages as well. According to a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, implementing effective infection-control programs costs about $3,000 per infection, while an infection costs between $30,000 and $36,000.
If you or a member of your family has experienced an injury caused by medical malpractice or nursing home neglect and abuse, please contact our Florida injury lawyers in Boca Raton, Fort Myers or Naples at Hollander Law Firm, 888-751-7770, for a free and confidential consultation.
