隨著冠狀病毒的逼近，許多療養(yǎng)院在預防感染方面做得不夠

隨著冠狀病毒的逼近，許多療養(yǎng)院在預防感染方面做得不夠

Long before the novel coronavirus made its surprise appearance, the nation's nursing homes were struggling to obey basic infection prevention protocols designed to halt the spread of viruses and bacteria.

早在新型冠狀病毒出人意料地出現(xiàn)之前，美國的療養(yǎng)院就在努力遵守基本的預防感染方案，這些方案旨在阻止病毒和細菌的傳播。

Since the beginning of 2017. government health inspectors have cited more nursing homes for failing to ensure that all workers follow those prevention and control rules than for any other type of violation, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis of federal records.

根據(jù)凱撒健康新聞對聯(lián)邦記錄的分析，自2017年初以來，政府衛(wèi)生檢查員指出，與其他類型的違規(guī)行為相比，更多的養(yǎng)老院未能確保所有員工遵守這些預防和控制規(guī)定。

In all, 9.372 nursing homes, or 61%, were cited for one or more infection-control deficiencies, the analysis showed. It also found violations were more common at homes with fewer nurses and aides than at facilities with higher staffing levels.

分析顯示，共有9372家療養(yǎng)院(61%)存在一項或多項感染控制缺陷。報告還發(fā)現(xiàn)，違規(guī)行為在護士和助手較少的家庭中比在人員配備較多的機構中更為常見。

Even among nursing homes crowned with the maximum government rating of five stars for overall quality, 4 in 10 have been cited for an infection-control lapse. Those include the Life Care Center of Kirkland, Washington, a Seattle suburb, where five people who had lived at the facility have died.

即便是在政府最高質量評級為五星的養(yǎng)老院中，也有四成的養(yǎng)老院被指存在感染控制失誤。其中包括位于西雅圖郊區(qū)的華盛頓柯克蘭生命護理中心，曾在這里居住的五人已經(jīng)死亡。

Inspection reports from around the country show many errors are rudimentary, such as workers not washing their hands as they moved to the next patient, or failing to don masks, gloves and gowns when in the rooms of contagious patients in isolation.

來自全國各地的檢查報告顯示，許多錯誤都是初步的，比如在接觸下一個病人時，工作人員沒有洗手，或者在隔離的傳染病病人房間里沒有戴口罩、手套和長袍。

"It's all these little things that are part of infection-control practices that when they are added up can create an environment for an infection outbreak," said Patricia Hunter, the Washington State Long-Term Care Ombuds, who addresses complaints from residents and families and pushes for improvements in facilities.

“所有這些小東西都是感染控制措施的一部分，當它們加在一起時，就能創(chuàng)造一個感染爆發(fā)的環(huán)境，”華盛頓州長期護理組織Ombuds的帕特里夏·亨特說。她負責處理居民和家庭的投訴，并推動設施的改善。

In recent years, the federal government has been ramping up the standards for nursing homes, but inspectors remain frustrated by the prevalence of sloppy or nonexistent hand-washing. "We have got to do better on hand-washing," Evan Shulman, the director for the nursing home division of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, told an association of nursing home directors in 2018.

近年來，聯(lián)邦政府一直在提高養(yǎng)老院的標準，但檢查人員對普遍存在的馬虎或不存在的洗手現(xiàn)象仍然感到沮喪。“我們必須在洗手方面做得更好，”醫(yī)療保險和醫(yī)療補助服務中心養(yǎng)老院部主任埃文·舒爾曼在2018年對養(yǎng)老院主任協(xié)會說。

The coronavirus has demonstrated its potential lethality among the old and frail in Kirkland. As many as 3.8 million infections occur in nursing homes each year, killing nearly 388.000 residents.

冠狀病毒已經(jīng)在柯克蘭的老弱病殘人群中顯示出了潛在的致命性。每年在在療養(yǎng)院有多達380萬例感染發(fā)生，造成近38.8萬居民死亡。

Dr. David Gifford, the chief medical officer for the American Health Care Association, the primary nursing home trade group, told reporters Monday that these facilities were ready to deal with coronavirus infections through the prevention plans they have in place. "We prepare for seasonal influenza every year — it's very similar to that," he said.

美國衛(wèi)生保健協(xié)會的首席醫(yī)療官戴維·吉福德周一對記者說，這些機構已經(jīng)準備好通過現(xiàn)有的預防計劃應對冠狀病毒感染。美國衛(wèi)生保健協(xié)會是美國主要的養(yǎng)老院行業(yè)組織。他說:“我們每年都要為季節(jié)性流感做準備。

"We are reinforcing the information for basic procedures for how to prevent the spread," he added, such as keeping infected residents away from others and having sick employees stay home.

他還說：“我們正在加強有關如何防止病毒傳播的基本程序的信息，例如讓感染者遠離他人，讓生病的員工待在家里。