Betsy McCaughy: Hospital Infection Crusader

This woman is head RID.

 From her RID website:

"When I was Lt. Governor of New York State, I was horrified to hear about patients suffering from hospital infections. I heard from families struggling to understand how their loved one had been killed, instead of cured, by hospital care. That’s why I founded the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. RID is a non-profit organization dedicated to only one cause: saving lives"  - Betsy McCaughy -


WHO IS BETSY MCCAUGHY?


From Wikipedia

It may surprise you to know but Betsy is a conservative Republican. Who'd of thunk it?! Ms McCaughy heads an organization called RID. RID Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths  and Ms McCaughy have no doubt save 1000s of lives.

WHAT IS RID?

RID is a not-for-profit educational campaign committed to correcting a deadly problem that kills more people each year in the U.S. than AIDS, breast cancer, and auto accidents combined.
Where does it kill? In our hospitals.  What is it? Hospital infection.

The death toll is staggering, at least 103,000 lives a year. So is the economic cost.  Hospital infections add over $30 billion a year to the nation’s health tab in added hospital costs alone. 
These infections are almost all preventable.  An increasing number of hospitals in the U.S. are proving it, reducing some of the deadliest types of infections by 90%. We have the knowledge to prevent this problem. What has been lacking is the will.

That is why I founded the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.  (RID): to motivate hospitals to make infection a top priority; to disseminate to hospitals the latest, most authoritative research on how to prevent infections; to make the compelling economic case that preventing infections not only saves lives but also makes hospitals more profitable; to ensure that no matter where you live, you can find out which hospitals in your area have the worst infection problems; and to inform patients about steps they can take to reduce risk of infection.

RID holds forums throughout the United States and in foreign countries for hospital administrators and caregivers.

RID educates the public through television, radio, publications, our website at www.hospitalinfection.org, and our Fifteen Steps You Can Take to Reduce Your Risk of Getting a Hospital Infection.

RID works with state lawmakers and policy makers to develop hospital infection reporting legislation, MRSA screening legislation, and address other public health issues related to infection prevention.

RID lends its expertise to medical schools and nursing schools to educate their students about how bacteria spread from patient to patient and what caregivers can do to protect their own patients.  This may be RID’s most lasting legacy, ensuring that future generations of caregivers know how to “do no harm.” 

Betsy missed the overall problem. health care acquired infections are a symptom of a much larger problem in healthcare. I also think she is a bit naive in thinking that reducing hospital infections will save hospitals money. Sure, some hospitals get sued but most who infect their patients don't get sued. The CFOs to a cost benefit analysis and they see that it is in the best financial interest not to prevent infection. The average HIA nets a hospital $50,000.00 in addition to the original admission and treatment. There are not enough lawyers to prosecute cases for the 2 - 4 million infection victims.

Hospitals that care about patients have low infection rates. Corporate hospitals have high infection rates.

A hospital is supposed to be a sterile place. The truth is a hospital is a filthy dirty place. You are safer working in a sewer.

In spite of MsCaughy's efforts hospital infections are still on the rise. Hospital Infections Still Rising!

There is a simple solution. Patient who get preventable infection while a patient at a hospital should get their entire bill payed plus a large settlement that comes directly out of the pocket of the board of directors and the officers who run the facility.  Since all they give a shit about is money this will end HIAs.