Becker's Hospital Review

82 CMO / CARE DELIVERY 27 women at South Carolina hospital develop bacterial infection after surgery: 8 things to know By Alia Paavola A er undergoing surgery at Charles- ton, S.C.-based Roper Hospital in 2016 and 2017, 27 women devel- oped a waterborne bacterial infection that required a string of antibiotic treatments and additional surgeries, reported e Post and Courier. Here are eight things to know. 1. Most of the affected women acquired the infection aer breast reconstruction surgery. Prior to the breast reconstruction surgery, a majority of the affected women had received a mastectomy because they were diagnosed with breast cancer or found out they had a genetic predisposition to breast cancer. 2. Two patients developed the infection aer an abdominal plastic surgery procedure and two more acquired the infection following a proce- dure related to a different cancer treatment. 3. Affected patients had to undergo addition- al surgery to drain fluid from their breasts and received months of antibiotic treatments. 4. Hospital leaders confirmed April 13 that the hospital's tap water tested positive for nontu- berculous mycobacteria. It is unclear how the patients were infected or exposed to the tap water because the surgeons used sterile water. 5. Following reports of the outbreak, the South Carolina Department of Health and the CDC began investigating Roper Hospital. is in- vestigation was launched in July 2016. Accord- ing to Todd Shuman, chief physician officer at Roper Hospital, federal and state officials have been unable to determine why other surgical patients weren't infected or why breast recon- struction patients were adversely affected. 6. As a result of the infections and ongoing investigation, the hospital's parent organi- zation, Charleston-based Roper St. Francis, has moved all breast reconstruction surger- ies to Mount Pleasant (S.C.) Hospital and have installed filters to purify water at its Charleston campus. 7. e last infection of nontuberculous my- cobacteria was reported in May 2017. All pa- tients who underwent breast reconstruction procedures have been notified. 8. None of the affected hospital patients have died, and the hospital does not face any legal threat at this time. n 5 Joint Commission hospital requirements most commonly cited as 'not compliant' in 2017 By Anuja Vaidya T he Joint Commission identified the requirements most commonly cited as "not compliant" during surveys for various types of accreditation and certification for cal- endar year 2017. Here are the top five requirements identified as "not compli- ant" for hospital accreditation surveys. Note: The figures represent non-compliance percentage for each standard. 1. The hospital provides and maintains systems for extinguish- ing fires — 86 percent 2. The hospital manages risks associated with its utility systems — 73 percent 3. The hospital provides and maintains building features to protect individuals from the hazards of fire and smoke — 72 percent 4. The hospital reduces the risk of infections associated with medical equipment, devices and supplies — 72 percent 5. The hospital established and maintains a safe, functional en- vironment — 70 percent n Penn State Hershey drops 2,100 neurology patients By Alyssa Rege P enn State Health Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medi- cal Center sent letters to roughly 2,100 patients mid-April stating the hospital could no longer provide them with adequate neurology care, ABC-27 News reported. A spokesperson for Penn State Health told Becker's Hospital Review April 23 the multiple sclerosis service at the hospital sent letters to 2,100 patients advising them to seek alternate care options until the hospital recruits more specialists to its team. The spokesperson said among other challenges, two of its MS specialty physicians retired and two others left the institution. "As we seek to hire additional, highly specialized phy- sicians and advanced care practitioners to treat pa- tients with MS, we are encountering many of the same challenges being seen by health systems nationwide — namely, a shortage of sub-specialists trained and ready to treat this complex illness," the spokesperson told Becker's. The spokesperson told Becker's Penn State Health is "committed to serving our patients' needs for MS care ... and are actively working through a plan to make this happen." The hospital will also directly con- tact affected patients "in the near future" to aid them in the transition. n

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