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Healthcare-Associated Infection Essay

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Introduction
Healthcare is an ever-evolving field. The debate over whether contact isolation precautions for patients who have either a methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection or a vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) infection is one of the most recent inquiries that healthcare facilities are currently focused on. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) – infections patients can get while receiving medical treatment in a healthcare facility, are a major, yet often preventable, threat to patient safety. On any given day, approximately one in 25 hospital patients has at least one healthcare-associated infection (Center for Disease Control [CDC] and Prevention, 2010, para 1-2). The category of protective isolation, was eliminated in the 1983 revision of the CDC’s Guidance for Isolation Procedures in Hospitals. This was based on evidence that simple protective isolation offered no advantage over routine care for most immunocompromised patients (Wigglesworth, 2003, para 6). However, some studies have identified a reduced risk of infection and improved outcomes associated with the routine use of barrier precautions, such as wearing gloves and gowns in high-risk populations.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA, is a “bacteria that are resistant to many antibiotics. Staph and MRSA can

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