Carole Moss has been a lead advocate on the effort to pass legislation requiring California hospitals to report their infection rates available to the public. The bill is names after her son, Nile, who died of MRSA, an antibiotic resistant superbug. The legislation also requires screening of patients for MRSA and isolating those that have it.
Similar legislation has failed in the state the past four years. But this year with the help of Carole and many other dedicated advocates, including those with personal hospital infection experiences, the bill has passed the General Assembly and is being sent to the governor for signature into law.
View Carole's story about her son Nile:
2 Posted by Martha Thompson at 09/17/08 08:24 PMThank you for getting this message out to the public and especially to our Citizens here in CA. We need this legislation mandated to ensure our health care facilities and providers are testing for these preventable infections that can kill you if not detected and treated quickly.
3 Posted by Megan Hamilton at 09/18/08 06:34 PMI am so thankful that Carole is fighting this cause and is doing something about it. With so many incurable diseases that we are still searching for answers, why not ensure proper measures are taken to protect the well being of the public as the hospitals are suppose to do in the first place?
4 Posted by Temika at 09/23/08 01:27 AMMy mother, Dorothy L. Murphy went to Doctor's Hospital in Modesto, California. She was there for removal of a cancerous uterus. The surgery went well. Hospital staff inserted a tube into my mothers abdomen to help fluid drain. Then, they forgot about it for 21 days. She developed a staph infection and spent the last six weeks of her life on a respirator. She died two days before Mother's Day in 2000. She went in for a routine surgery that turned out fine, and died anyway. The hospital staff seemed to have the attitude "she's old and not worth anything, so we'll just ignore her." I have been angry about this ever since.
5 Posted by Patricia Kelmar at 09/24/08 01:39 PMI would just like to bring up the topic of possible reasons that this type of a germ is as strong as it is. The over sterilization and over use of antibiotics seems to be a main contributor to the rapid development of viruses that are resistant to them. These organisms have potentially been living in some form for thousands of years and the constant attempt to kill/weaken them can only be making the ones that do survive stronger, this evolution is only natural.
I am bringing the (possibly redundant) idea that hospitals are to not only take measures to prevent the spread of the MSRA but to stop the practice of over use of antibiotics and other measures that cause viruses to become resistant to the effort against their containment.
My sincere wishes are for comfort and inner peace in the face of loss for all of those battling and that have battled illness while big business treats all our precious and fragile being as a corporate asset or just something to make money from.
Love and strength
~*Mika*~
6 Posted by Kacia Warren at 12/03/08 05:49 PMNew Jersey passed a law in 2007 requiring the public reporting of hospital infections. The rules are nearly final and hospitals should begin reporting in January 2009. The Health Commissioner has targeted three specific infections to begin reporting: central line associated blood stream infections, and surgical site infections related to CABG surgery (coronary artery bypass graft) and abdominal hysterectomy. It is just a start, but we do know that when numbers like this get out to the public, it drives change in the hospital setting. Administrators of hospitals are already talking about "Best Practices" for prevention of these types of infections. The sure winner is the patient. Now...if only we could get that list expanded. To help in the campaign, contact AARP New Jersey. We are working hand-in-hand with the good folks at Consumers Union. And together we'll make a difference.
7 Posted by odessa at 04/16/09 10:40 AMThank you Carol for advocating for the many loved ones lost in hospitals from Infectious Diseases.
I too lost my Mother, Laura R. Burns, LPN who served 23 years nursing many loved ones to health and giving outstanding care.
I commend you for your Niles foundation and working for legislation to keep hospitals accountable and the public aware.
How do I email Carole Moss? I am a Mom who wants to be a part of her advocacy to get the word out on this Bill. I want to share with her other incidents of what everyday people are going through. My son is dying a slow and painful death due to MRSA brought about by neglect (and other health complications). They want to transfer him from the present hospital back to another nursing home but admit there is no one on staff there to treat his "wounds". His vitals are all great and he continues to rebound but they also said "if his blood pressure drops again they will not use any oppressors".
