Hospital asks families to limit visitors (update)

4:34 p.m. update:

Sault Area Hospital has confirmed that an MRSA outbreak has been identified at the hospital:

"MRSA has been identified at Sault Area Hospital on the following units the 3C - Medical Unit, 2B - Rehab and 2C - Complex Care.

The SAH team is working diligently to bring this outbreak under control and making progress with our efforts.  

Based on work our team had done with families and visitors we felt that that the general public would benefit from this information."

Earlier release:

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Superbugs are bacteria that have become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to combat infections. 

Some examples of Superbugs are MRSA and VRE.

They can be transferred from person to person through touch. 

The elderly and people who are hospitalized are more susceptible to infections caused by the superbugs.  

Every day our Staff, physicians and volunteers work diligently to reduce the spread of superbugs at Sault Area Hospital but occasionally we experience and outbreak. 

An outbreak is a higher than usual number of patients who have been exposed to a superbug.  

Some of the things you can do to help to prevent an outbreak:

Clean your hands at the hand hygiene stations when you enter the hospital and before you enter the patient room.  

Clean your hands each time you leave the patient room and before you leave the unit.  

Talk to the nurse before entering the patient’s room to review proper hand hygiene.

Limit the number of visitors per patient.

Refrain from using the patient bathroom. Public washrooms are available in each area.  

Visit only one patient at a time, avoid from moving between patient rooms.

Keep personal belongings to a minimum to allow Housekeeping to thoroughly clean patient rooms

The healthcare team at SAH regards each patient as a unique individual deserving the best of our care.

We recognize that visitors are an important part of a patient’s recovery.  

To support your family member’s recovery we ask that you limit visitors to one to two visitors at a time and follow the guidelines for reducing the superbug risks.   
 
We will continue to release new information through our local media and the SAH website at www.sah.on.ca.

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