Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/903742
14 INFECTION CONTROL & PATIENT SAFETY Ex-Quality Officer Claims Operator of United Medical Center in DC Undermined Patient Safety Efforts By Brian Zimmerman T he former director of quality management and patient safety at Washington, D.C.-based United Medical Center resigned in July after seven months on the job, claiming Veritas — the consulting firm operating the hospital — allegedly undermined her efforts to promote clinical quality and patient safety at UMC, according to The Washington Post. Here are five things to know. 1. UMC — the District of Columbia's only public hospital — has come under scrutiny in recent months over reports of potential care protocol breaches linked to a patient death and a 90-day obstetrics ward shutdown order by regu- lators in August, among other issues. 2. On Oct. 30, David Boucrée, the inter- im hospital CEO and a Veritas employee, testified before the D.C. Council's health committee regarding the patient safety program at UMC. The interim CEO said hospital operations deteriorated after UMC's contract with Huron Consulting Group ended. Mr. Boucrée testified that the hospital was already operational- ly dysfunctional before Veritas took control. 3. Maria Costino, the former patient safety director, testified before the com- mittee Nov. 3. "Some of the information Mr. Boucrée provided to this council that day was overstated and some was misrepresent- ed," Ms. Costino states in her prepared remarks obtained by the Post. "My decision to leave the organization was largely the result of a continued lack of support by the Veritas leadership. My time at UMC was one continuous uphill climb to have quality and patient safety be a primar y focus of the organization, or more specifically the Veritas team, starting from my second day of employ- ment." 4. In Januar y, Ms. Costino filed a complaint with the hospital's human resources department, saying Veritas officials were involved in "an attempt to curtail my activities and filter my reports." Additionally, Ms. Costino said Diane Kelly, a Veritas executive, told her not to speak to anyone about safety problems she identified until Ms. Kelly had a chance to review them, telling Ms. Costino "you know Veritas will be blamed for this." 5. A spokesperson for the hospital and Veritas did not immediately respond to the Post's request for comment. n Study: 4 in 10 Healthcare Professionals Work With Flu-Like Symptoms By Mackenzie Bean A bout 40 percent of healthcare professionals go to work with influenza-like symptoms, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control. For the study, researchers conducted a national online sur- vey of 1,914 healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurse practitioners and pharmacists, during the 2014-15 flu season. Survey participants self-reported flu-like symptoms and identified factors that urged them to come into work. Respondent worked in four types of healthcare settings: hospitals, ambulatory care or physician offices, long-term care facilities, or other clinical settings. Here are four study findings. 1. Of the nearly 2,000 healthcare professionals surveyed, 414 reported flu-like symptoms. Of these individuals, 41.4 percent worked for a median of three days while experiencing symptoms. 2. Respondents from hospitals reported the highest frequency of working with flu-like symptoms (49.3 per- cent), followed by those at long-term care facilities (28.5 percent). 3. Clinicians were the healthcare professionals most likely to work with flu-like symptoms, with 44.3 percent reporting the behavior. Of all clinicians, pharmacists (67.2 percent) and physicians (63.2 percent) most often worked while sick. 4. The most common reasons employees cited for not tak- ing a sick day included feeling like they could still perform their job duties, not feeling "bad enough" to stay home, not feeling contagious, feeling obligated to be present for coworkers and not being able to find a coworker to cover for them. "The statistics are alarming. At least one earlier study has shown that patients who are exposed to a healthcare work- er who is sick are five times more likely to get a health- care-associated infection," said lead researcher Sophia Chiu, MD, of the CDC's National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. "We recommend all healthcare facilities take steps to support and encourage their staff to not work while they are sick." n