Patient Stories and Patient Safety | Blogs

Keeping Your Hands Clean and Healthy

Truth: Alcohol-based is more effective and less drying than soap and water.

As a healthcare worker, clean hands count. Clean hands prevent the spread of illness in healthcare facilities. Unfortunately, the frequent handwashing and sanitizing needed to achieve this all too often results in painful, cracking, or broken skin on the hands. This raises an important question: what can we do to ensure our hands are clean Read More >

May 6, 2024 by Aída Lugo-Somolinos MD, Brandon L. Adler, MD and Jennifer K. Chen, MD

Patient Stories and Patient Safety

Denise Cardo, MD, retires after 30 years dedicated to patient safety

As part of Public Health Thank You Day, celebrated every year on the Monday before Thanksgiving, we’d like to honor Denise Cardo, MD, who recently retired from public service after 30 years dedicated to patient safety. Denise leaves a legacy of protecting the United States and the globe from some of our most challenging and Read More >

November 20, 2023 by Katy Capers, MA, & Kendra Driver, PhD3 Comments

Patient Stories and Patient Safety

patient stories and patient safety

I Want My Sepsis Experience to Help Save Lives

Katy Grainger, Sepsis Alliance Board of Directors

In 2018, I got a small infection on my thumb that looked unusual, so I visited an emergency room. All my vital signs were strong at the time, and there was no indication that the infection had progressed or that my body had developed sepsis. Over the next 36 hours, I developed several of the Read More >

September 13, 2023 by Katy Grainger, Sepsis Survivor, double amputee, patient advocate and member of Sepsis Alliance Board of Directors13 Comments

Healthcare-associated infections, Patient Stories and Patient Safety

Healthcare-associated Infections, Infection Control and Prevention, patient stories and patient safety, Sepsis

One Pill Can Kill

Our daughter, Maisie, died after ingesting a methadone pill at a neighbor’s house that was on the floor. Six adults, three of them doctors, were with her the entire evening. Still, the small white pill found her hand, and then, as a nine-month-old baby would do, found her mouth. After putting Maisie to bed during Read More >

September 8, 2023 by Adam and MaryBeth Gillan, Maisie’s parents1 Comment

Medication Safety, Patient Stories and Patient Safety

Medications

HICPAC invites your comments on revised isolation precautions guideline this fall

African American female healthcare worker dons a face mask as she approaches a healthcare facility

CDC’s evidence-based guidelines for health care are designed to protect healthcare workers and patients, encourage safe practices, improve health outcomes, and save lives. They are not regulations, but many regulatory bodies consider this advice when they create the rules that lead to penalties and payments for healthcare facilities. We have learned a lot about how Read More >

August 15, 2023 by Mike Bell, MD, and Alex Kallen, MD, MPH55 Comments