Posted On:
July 9, 2009
Hosptial Infection Lawsuits
Infections just happen. Or do they? 
CNN published a story today that questions the "infections happen" defense. Dr. Alfonso Torress-Cook, director of epidemiology and patient safety at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach California, has reduced the infection rate at his hospital to down to 0.01 per 1,000 discharges, 430 times better than the national average. Read that again: 430 times. Incredible.
The doctor's strategy? Don't go after all bacteria, just the dangerous ones. The hospital uses antibiotics sparingly, feed patients yogurt to replenish healthy bacteria in the gut and bathe patients daily, using a soap that maintains the natural pH of the patient's skin, killing only bad bacteria.
