Infection Prevention and Control

Hand washing is the single most effective thing you can do to prevent the spread of infection. Everyone at WDMH, including all staff, patients, physicians, and visitors must practice routine hand washing. For your convenience, waterless antiseptic hand wash stations are available throughout the hospital. Visitors should wash their hands when entering and exiting WDMH.

All admitted patients are assessed and screened for antibiotic-resistant organisms. The most common one is MRSA. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a type of staph bacteria that becomes resistant to many of the antibiotics used to treat ordinary staph infections. A member of the care team will take a swab and send the results to your doctor.

When patients have a specific organism/disease that can spread to other patients, certain precautions are necessary. These precautions may include a private room where everyone who enters may be required to put on protective equipment such as masks, gloves and/or gowns. It is important that both patients and visitors follow the nurse’s directives to prevent the spread of a contagious disease.

Everyone must wash his or her hands prior to entering and exiting a patient’s room. A stop sign and pictorial signage will be placed at the entrance to alert staff, physicians and visitors. The sign will indicate the specific infection precautions that must be taken.

Your nurse will provide you with information to help you understand the infection precautions and monitoring program.