Occasionally, hospitals suggest that cutting back, or contracting-out, housekeeping is not so bad if it only affects hospital offices, or other areas where the patients are not immediately found.
So it's useful to see a news report today in which Michelle Baird, the Hamilton public health infectious disease and control manager, indicates that hospital infectious control staff should ensure keyboards are properly cleaned since hospitals have patients with compromised immune systems.
The report also notes that a British consumer organization study found keyboards five times dirtier than the average toilet seat. And tests at a Chicago hospital in 2005 found bacteria including VRE and MRSA living on the keys for 24 hours.
Oh yeah - Ms Baird also says if people are ill, they should call in sick. Sounds like a good idea -- especially in a hospital. But the sad truth is, now-a-days that can be a good way to get into trouble at a hospital, as the province is cracking down on sick leave.
Penny-wise, dollar foolish.
dallan@cupe.ca
So it's useful to see a news report today in which Michelle Baird, the Hamilton public health infectious disease and control manager, indicates that hospital infectious control staff should ensure keyboards are properly cleaned since hospitals have patients with compromised immune systems.
The report also notes that a British consumer organization study found keyboards five times dirtier than the average toilet seat. And tests at a Chicago hospital in 2005 found bacteria including VRE and MRSA living on the keys for 24 hours.
Oh yeah - Ms Baird also says if people are ill, they should call in sick. Sounds like a good idea -- especially in a hospital. But the sad truth is, now-a-days that can be a good way to get into trouble at a hospital, as the province is cracking down on sick leave.
Penny-wise, dollar foolish.
dallan@cupe.ca
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