Hospital in Ormoc readies protocol against hospital-acquired infection

ORMOC CITY, Philippines — The Ormoc District Hospital, together with the Navotas City Hospital, is now working to come up with a manual or protocol to combat Hospital-Acquired Infection (HAI), which is preventable but could be deadly if ignored.

The two government hospitals are preparing the manual under the guidance of doctor-members of the Rotary Club of Wheatridge and Arvada in Colorado, USA, who are also collaborating with local Rotary Clubs, such as the Rotary Club of Ormoc on the case of Ormoc City.

Doctor Jaime Yrastorza of the Rotary Club of Wheatridge said a study in the United States suggests that 1.7-million people out of 15-million in acute care hospitals have been infected by HAI. “That’s in the US,” he said, and 99,000 of the these patients have died.

Yrastorza added that the percentages could be higher in poorly-funded government hospitals in the Philippines. "That is why they we taken up the cause of encouraging government hospitals here to come up with a protocol to lessen the chances of infection," he said.

The group of Yrastorza are also trying to rally the various Rotary Clubs in the country to take up the cause. "The country has 1,457 hospitals, while there are 10,000 Rotary Clubs with 500,000 members in 10 districts. If Rotarians pitched in to help their government hospitals, the cause of preventing HAI is achievable," he said.

Yrastorza and company started the program last year, and they were happy to see the improvements at the Ormoc District Hospital. Now, the hospital has sanitizers strategically placed on their walls as part of preventing HAI.

Doctor Lourdes Banquiezo, ODH chief, said they have already acquired an autoclave to sterilize waste materials before these are taken away by garbage collectors. A television set was also installed at the hospital lobby to show the proper way of washing hands, as well as tips on hygiene measures. The hospital has also installed more washrooms.

The Rotary Club of Ormoc had also installed three washrooms in the hospital and a toilet, and renovated a surgical ward for eight patients. Banquiezo added they hope that the manual they are working on would be finished soon.

Yrastorza, an 87-year-old maxilla-facial surgeon who left Ormoc City when he was 17, is the founder of the humanitarian organization Uplift International, which does cleft palate and harelip surgery missions all over the world. (FREEMAN)