A young pregnant woman, who’s been complaining of respiratory problems, waits patiently in an exam room at Christ Community Health Services. Before long, nurse midwife Margaret Taylor appears to take her temperature and listen as the expectant mother describes her ailments. Though the girl doesn’t appear to have the H1N1 swine flu virus that’s taken Memphis by storm, Taylor doesn’t take any chances.

 

As she leaves the exam room, Taylor walks to the nurse’s station where she squeezes hand sanitizer into her hands, and wipes them thoroughly before moving on to the next patient. For healthcare workers like Taylor, routine hand washing is the first line of defense in combating contagious viruses like the swine flu.

 

“I try to be as careful as possible and be mindful of who is sick,” said Taylor, who treats patients at Christ Community’s Broad Avenue clinic. “If a patient has the flu, we’ll disinfect the room with aerosol spray and wipe down the room with disinfectant to make sure it’s clean.”

 

Because of the contagious nature of viruses like the swine flu, medical workers are becoming more mindful of their own health as well. Taylor said two years ago she had to call in sick on several occasions because of upper respiratory infections she caught during the flu season. Now, she makes a point to get a flu shot early in the fall to ward off possible illness.

 

While workers at her clinic aren’t required to get the flu vaccine or flu mist, they must sign a release if they opt out. “We’ve had several people at our clinics who became ill and had to take time off, because of the flu or strep, but I know we’re not the only ones,” said Taylor. Because of the virulent nature of the H1N1 virus, she says no one is taking chances, “I think everyone in our clinic got vaccinated.”

 

Healthcare workers across the Mid-South have become more vigilant in the face of the swine flu this fall. Since doctors and nurses are on the front line of caring for patients with transmittable diseases, taking measures to keep germs at bay is key. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Hospital Infection Control Advisory Committee updated its standard health precautions guidelines in 2007, stating that hand washing before and after every patient contact was advised, and that the use of an alcohol-based hand disinfectant is considered an acceptable alternative to soap and water.

 

Hospital administrators have been working more diligently to safeguard the health of their medical workers. The Methodist Healthcare system has been in the midst of a yearlong hand washing campaign as a means of reducing the risk of hospital-acquired infections, a public health measure spearheaded, in part, by the Healthy Memphis Common Table, a regional health and healthcare improvement collaborative.

 

The aim is to improve hand hygiene, since thorough hand washing with soap and water is known to effectively eradicate 98 percent of germs. To make sure Methodist staffers comply, silent surveys are conducted throughout the hospital, with designated personnel keeping an eye on healthcare workers, and making note of those who don’t make a habit of routinely washing their hands. Survey results are then made available each month, so individual departments know how well staff are complying.

 

The flu surge has also led to an increased use of masks and gloves at Le Bonheur Children’s Medical Center. Not only are healthcare workers using them during examinations and lab work, but masks are also being handed out to parents and children with respiratory infections to help keep transmissions down in the waiting rooms.

 

“When there’s more illness, it just makes us that much more cautious,” said Le Bonheur’s Barry Gilmore, director of emergency services.

 

Le Bonheur began seeing a growing number of patients with flu-like symptoms after children returned to school in August. By mid-September, more than 6,000 swine flu cases had been reported, according to Gilmore. But because they’ve stepped up their efforts to improve hygiene practices, along with increasing the use of masks and gowns when appropriate, “We have been successful, not as many workers have gotten sick,” said Gilmore.

 

Many healthcare workers are also being encouraged to get a flu shot or take the flu mist, when appropriate.

 

“Personally, I think it’s the healthcare workers responsibility to do what is best to fight against the flu by getting the influenza vaccine,” said Yvonne Madlock director of the Memphis and Shelby County Health Department.

 

Health officials expected to see a resurgence of the H1N1 virus when it initially emerged last spring, noted Madlock, since flu viruses typically occur in several waves. The reopening of schools in August is what enabled the second wave of flu to infect so many people so rapidly, both in the Mid-South and across the Southeast. However, said Madlock, the H1N1 virus has affected virtually every state in the union.

 

Madlock added that healthcare workers as well as the general public, need to be more vigilant about the risk of spreading harmful germs. To keep healthy, best practices include good hand-washing hygiene, coughing into the crook of the arm, staying home when contagious (particularly if fever is present) to slow the spread of illness, and getting the flu vaccine or flu mist to ward off possible infection.