When a patient in Oregon is injured or ill, they might be admitted to the hospital for treatment. These facilities provide the patient with around the clock care while they recover from an illness, receive treatment or recover from a surgery. While the hospital environment is often conducive towards the treatment and recovery of a patient, these facilities could also be the reason or cause for a hospital-acquired infection, which could lead to new ailments or worsened medical conditions.
Many question what are the different types of hospital acquired and how they occur. While modern technology and procedures often provide patients with the opportunity to safely recover in healthcare facilities, if proper steps are not carried out, serious infections could result. Common types of infections include bloodstream infections, catheter-associated UTIs and ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Furthermore, infections could also occur in the operation room if proper steps are not carried out. A patient could suffer an infection at the surgical site, leading to serious medical conditions, especially is it is not caught and treated right away. The most common way any of these types of infections occurs is due to sterilization issues. Specifically, instruments or devices have not been properly sterilized or used, which leads to the hospital-acquired illness.
Hospital-acquired infections are often related to the reason or cause that brought the patient to the hospital in the first place. Furthermore, these infections could cause the patient more hardship and even worsen the condition that brought them to the healthcare facility. When this occurs, patients might have rights and actions, such as a medical malpractice suit. In these matters, it is important patient understand how to address these issues such as investigating the facility, the procedures done to them and the staff member that came in contact with them.
Source: Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Types of Healthcare-associated Infections,” Accessed on Oct. 21, 2014