15 St. Francis employees test positive for infectious bacteria

15 operating room staff members were asked to stay out of surgery, after an increase in the rate of infections at St. Francis Hospital.

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Steven Shapiro and Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Timothy West said Friday, this was an extraordinary measure, but it was successful.

The 15 staff members tested positive for carrying bacteria, that may have caused staph infections in 5 surgery patients between July and August.  Officials say the patients reported the staph infections after returning home following surgery so it is difficult to know whether they caught the bacteria at the hospital or later.

As a precautionary measure Roper St. Francis did nasal swabs of 68 operating room staff members with 15 returning positive cultures of Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA).  They voluntary received anti-biotic treatment for 7 days and stayed out of the operating room.

MSSA is similar to the dangerous MRSA bacteria but it more easily treated and exists on the skin or in the nose of about 20-35% of the general population.

Dr. Shapiro says the 5 surgical infections represent, “a very slight increase in the rate of infections when you compare to all hospitals nationwide.“  Dr. West says this is the first time in his 15 year tenure with Roper St. Francis that staff was kept out of the operating room because of the threat of infection, but he says it has happened in other hospitals.

Dr. Shapiro says the patients are receiving treatment for their infections which were localized to the surgery area and he expects full recovery for each person.  The hospital reviewed the pre-surgery cleansing procedures for staff and instruments and did not find any faults with the methods of sterilization.

“I wish I could say infections never happen but they do in every hospital, but I think if you compare Roper St. Francis to other hospital systems you’ll find we have a very low rate of infections and this removal of staff shows are commitment to maintaining a safe hospital,“ says Dr. Shapiro.

Hospitals are required to report infections to state and federal regulatory agencies as well as medical certification boards.  To view these HAI reports follow this link to http://www.scdhec.gov/health/disease/hai/individual-mid.htm