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A New Disease Shakes the World: SARS Mosquito Nets Saving Lives An Ounce of Prevention... Medical Insurance to the Rescue |
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An Ounce of Prevention... |
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As Olyset® illustrates, preventative measures are crucial for fighting infectious diseases. Once infected, however, a patient has to rely on the power of medicine. What steps are hospitals in Japan’s urban centers taking against infectious disease? The Sumitomo Hospital in Osaka opened its doors in 1921 for the welfare of Sumitomo Group employees and their families, but it has always gladly served the surrounding community as well. It has long functioned as a major hospital for its area. The hospital was rebuilt in 2000, with the new building (499 beds) offering the most advanced medical treatments and an array of other patient amenities that has earned it a sterling reputation. One of every five patients is an employee of the Sumitomo Group or an employee-family member, and the nature of the location means that many of the other patients are local business people. Hiroaki Itatani, Sumitomo Hospital vice-president, commented on the facility’s measures to prevent infectious disease: “It’s very common for Sumitomo Group employees to go overseas for business, so naturally it’s possible that they might bring viral infections back with them. It’s particularly important for people coming home from areas with high infection rates to take care during their first week back, which is the incubation period for many of these diseases. They should stay at home during this period, then call designated hospitals or health centers for instructions if they show signs of infection, such as fever. Fundamentally, we advise these people not to go to non-designated hospitals in order to prevent secondary infections. Also, we of course contact the government authorities whenever a new disease appears and we cooperate in planning countermeasures.” The hospital also hears from companies wondering how best to protect employees going to areas rife with infectious disease. During the SARS crisis, the hospital advised them to have their employees take along masks and gargle medicine, and, since there was a mask shortage at the time, even donated its own supply of masks. |
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Hospital Infection Prevention Committee | |||
| Sumitomo Hospital is a major area hospital and it serves an important role in public health. For example, when dealing with a common infectious disease such as influenza, the hospital advises citizens and patients alike about how to protect themselves, such as by washing their hands or gargling. “Infectious diseases that spread through contact,” continues Itatani, “can mostly be prevented by careful hand washing. Of course, influenza and SARS can also spread through droplet infection when a carrier coughs or sneezes.” The hospital has also paid careful attention to the dangers of hospital infection, or nosocomial infection, as it is also known. A new Infection Control Team was recently added to the existing Hospital Infection Prevention Committee, and both ward and outpatient nurses have been assigned to act as liaisons between the office and nurses. These actions reflect the hospital’s commitment to preventing hospital infections. Itatani states confidently that “hospital infection rates have declined measurably since we launched the committee, and we haven’t had a single large-scale outbreak.” Sometimes patients unknowingly arrive at hospitals already infected. This is why Sumitomo Hospital tests all patients before operations and whenever they transfer in from other hospitals to see whether they are carriers of MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant infection that often spreads through hospital infection. This allows the hospital to eliminate the possibility of hospital infection if these patients later develop symptoms. According to the hospital, it is currently one of the few in Japan that performs tests for this purpose: “We have to make sure that all employees understand how to prevent infections—including hospital infections—and that they can appropriately apply prevention techniques. There is a high turnover of nurses and other staff, so we have an ongoing program of infection prevention education for all our staff,” explains Itatani. Routine efforts like these are key to preventing the spread of infectious disease at the front lines. |
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