Bugajewski Facility Services Comments on Kids and MRSA
7/1/2010
Bugajewski Facility Services, a national, full-service facility services company, announced today that it was offering a training class on what facilities can do to reduce the incidence levels of community acquired methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA
WARRINGTON, Pennsylvania (June 28, 2010) – Bugajewski Facility Services, a national, full-service facility services company, announced today that it was offering a training class on what facilities can do to reduce the incidence levels of community acquired methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus, better known as MRSA. An article was published in The Intelligencer this morning claims that the MRSA organism is being seen more frequently in hospital emergency room visits and that several hospitals are reporting positive tests in as many as half of the children who visit the hospital. Bugajewski Facility Services had predicted in a W4 Central Bucks Chamber article published in May – June 2008 that the superbug was going to be the source of additional outbreaks in the community.
Here is a copy of the article.
THIS SUPERBUG IS NO MATCH FOR BUGAJEWSKI FACILITY SERVICES
It’s a bug that you can’t see or touch. It lurks in hospitals, schools and pre-schools, athletic facilities, manufacturing facilities, day spas, correctional facilities and other spaces where people interact in close quarters. It can inflict serious, long lasting health-related problems and even cause death. What’s particularly frightening is that it is hard to kill. This bug, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (“MRSA”), often called a “superbug” due to its ability to successfully fight commonly-used antibiotics, only seems to be getting stronger and spreading more rapidly across the United States.
MRSA Killed More Americans than AIDS in 2005
A study by federal government researchers published in an October, 2007 edition of the "Journal of the American Medical Association” reported that an estimated 18,650 people died from MRSA in the United States in 2005 – greater than the 17,011 deaths attributable to HIV/AIDS across the nation in that year. While it was first discovered in 1961 and only accounted for 2% of all staph infections in the early 1970s, MRSA has grown to almost 65% of all cases and is the most common cause of skin infections in the U.S. In addition, what used to be a disease that originated from a hospital stay and preyed mostly on the sick and elderly is now afflicting perfectly healthy adults and children in alarming numbers.
Community-Associated MRSA on the Rise
There are two general categories of MRSA – hospital-acquired and community-associated. The latter form, also known as CA-MRSA, usually presents as a skin or soft tissue infection such as a boil, pimple or abscess and may be mistaken for a spider bite. In most cases, CA-MRSA is limited to the skin and does not result in a severe disease. Occasionally, however, it can cause more invasive and serious infections of the skin, bloodstream, heart, bones, lungs, or urinary tract. The Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) reported that in 2003, 12% of people with MRSA infections had CA-MRSA. While still a relatively low percentage of overall MRSA cases, recent studies have shown that rates of CA-MRSA infection are growing fast. From 2003 to 2005, the CA-MRSA incidence increased seventeenfold according to “Infectious Disease News.” Dr. Richard Tepper, an infectious disease specialist at Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center in Abington, PA was quoted in the “Bucks County Courier Times” as saying that he deals with MRSA patients daily. He claimed, “Six years ago, that was unheard of.”
CA-MRSA in Schools – How Pervasive is It?
In October, 2007, the Pennsbury School District revealed that two William Penn Middle School students were successfully treated for CA-MRSA. During the same time period, two new cases were also reported in the Bensalem School District. It is difficult to say, however, how rampant the problem is in our local community, as MRSA isn’t among the 46 communicable diseases that Pennsylvania requires physicians to report to health officials.
Montgomery County, Maryland has recently made the national news with its nearly 60 cases of CA-MRSA among students this school year. A special education teacher at Herbert Hoover Middle School in Rockville, Maryland died from MRSA complications last December. A local Bucks County business owner with a 16-year-old daughter attending high school in Montgomery County, Maryland, expressed, “This situation is terrifying to both students and parents. One of my daughter’s peers got MRSA is his eye earlier this year. I hope that the school system gets aggressive and brings in facility maintenance specialists to eradicate or at least subdue the widespread problem.”
Stopping the Spread of the Superbug CA-MRSA is spread from one person to another through casual contact, or through contaminated objects like sports equipment, toys, tools and sinks in public restrooms. According to Ben Bugajewski, cleaning industry veteran and the President & Founder of Bugajewski Facility Services (“BFS”), “MRSA is a rapidly growing, mutating disease. The bacteria can multiply a million fold in a single day and can survive on environmental surfaces for weeks to several months. This superbug can only be killed through regular and proper facility cleaning and maintenance.” BFS constantly researches and attends professional trade association conventions to learn about best practices in wiping out MRSA. In fact, the Company has an entire training program based on proper cleaning techniques and product usage to eliminate the superbug. For businesses and institutions, Bugajewski recommends the following process:
• Have an extreme focus on anything that is touched
• Use a (MRSA-killing) EPA registered germicidal detergent that has a label claim that it can kill and eliminate MRSA from environmental surfaces
• Mix the solution on-site; when solutions are pre-mixed, organisms can mutate and develop an immunity to the solution
• Triple rinse mops and hang in a ventilated area to dry
• Wash all rags in a germicidal detergent and dry thoroughly
• Avoid “topping off” germicidal detergent spray bottles; each bottle must be filled fresh during each cleaning to avoid diluting the power of the solution
• Employ a “mechanical means” to the cleaning process; staff must make contact with all surfaces with physical touch versus simply applying a spray
• Use adequate staffing and supply them with protective goggles and gloves, which are OSHA standards when working with the concentrated germicidal detergent.
He also recommends that anyone employed, visiting or using a facility be provided with proper supplies and a process to reinforce correct handwashing. Good hygiene can substantially reduce transmission of MRSA and lower infection rates. BFS strongly encourages business owners, facility managers and the general public to visit its Web site at www.bugajewski.com or contact the Company directly for facility cleaning and maintenance tips. According to Bugajewski, the biggest misconception about MRSA is that “It can’t happen to me.”
Bugajewski is prepared to show facilities who are interested in how to control the outbreak of the organism a training video made by Coastal Safety and Environmental Team called MRSA Awareness. Each participant will receive a handbook and hands on instruction. He will also discuss how the organism can grow and multiply on a variety of surfaces in your environments.
Here is a copy of the article.
THIS SUPERBUG IS NO MATCH FOR BUGAJEWSKI FACILITY SERVICES
It’s a bug that you can’t see or touch. It lurks in hospitals, schools and pre-schools, athletic facilities, manufacturing facilities, day spas, correctional facilities and other spaces where people interact in close quarters. It can inflict serious, long lasting health-related problems and even cause death. What’s particularly frightening is that it is hard to kill. This bug, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (“MRSA”), often called a “superbug” due to its ability to successfully fight commonly-used antibiotics, only seems to be getting stronger and spreading more rapidly across the United States.
MRSA Killed More Americans than AIDS in 2005
A study by federal government researchers published in an October, 2007 edition of the "Journal of the American Medical Association” reported that an estimated 18,650 people died from MRSA in the United States in 2005 – greater than the 17,011 deaths attributable to HIV/AIDS across the nation in that year. While it was first discovered in 1961 and only accounted for 2% of all staph infections in the early 1970s, MRSA has grown to almost 65% of all cases and is the most common cause of skin infections in the U.S. In addition, what used to be a disease that originated from a hospital stay and preyed mostly on the sick and elderly is now afflicting perfectly healthy adults and children in alarming numbers.
Community-Associated MRSA on the Rise
There are two general categories of MRSA – hospital-acquired and community-associated. The latter form, also known as CA-MRSA, usually presents as a skin or soft tissue infection such as a boil, pimple or abscess and may be mistaken for a spider bite. In most cases, CA-MRSA is limited to the skin and does not result in a severe disease. Occasionally, however, it can cause more invasive and serious infections of the skin, bloodstream, heart, bones, lungs, or urinary tract. The Center for Disease Control (“CDC”) reported that in 2003, 12% of people with MRSA infections had CA-MRSA. While still a relatively low percentage of overall MRSA cases, recent studies have shown that rates of CA-MRSA infection are growing fast. From 2003 to 2005, the CA-MRSA incidence increased seventeenfold according to “Infectious Disease News.” Dr. Richard Tepper, an infectious disease specialist at Holy Redeemer Hospital and Medical Center in Abington, PA was quoted in the “Bucks County Courier Times” as saying that he deals with MRSA patients daily. He claimed, “Six years ago, that was unheard of.”
CA-MRSA in Schools – How Pervasive is It?
In October, 2007, the Pennsbury School District revealed that two William Penn Middle School students were successfully treated for CA-MRSA. During the same time period, two new cases were also reported in the Bensalem School District. It is difficult to say, however, how rampant the problem is in our local community, as MRSA isn’t among the 46 communicable diseases that Pennsylvania requires physicians to report to health officials.
Montgomery County, Maryland has recently made the national news with its nearly 60 cases of CA-MRSA among students this school year. A special education teacher at Herbert Hoover Middle School in Rockville, Maryland died from MRSA complications last December. A local Bucks County business owner with a 16-year-old daughter attending high school in Montgomery County, Maryland, expressed, “This situation is terrifying to both students and parents. One of my daughter’s peers got MRSA is his eye earlier this year. I hope that the school system gets aggressive and brings in facility maintenance specialists to eradicate or at least subdue the widespread problem.”
Stopping the Spread of the Superbug CA-MRSA is spread from one person to another through casual contact, or through contaminated objects like sports equipment, toys, tools and sinks in public restrooms. According to Ben Bugajewski, cleaning industry veteran and the President & Founder of Bugajewski Facility Services (“BFS”), “MRSA is a rapidly growing, mutating disease. The bacteria can multiply a million fold in a single day and can survive on environmental surfaces for weeks to several months. This superbug can only be killed through regular and proper facility cleaning and maintenance.” BFS constantly researches and attends professional trade association conventions to learn about best practices in wiping out MRSA. In fact, the Company has an entire training program based on proper cleaning techniques and product usage to eliminate the superbug. For businesses and institutions, Bugajewski recommends the following process:
• Have an extreme focus on anything that is touched
• Use a (MRSA-killing) EPA registered germicidal detergent that has a label claim that it can kill and eliminate MRSA from environmental surfaces
• Mix the solution on-site; when solutions are pre-mixed, organisms can mutate and develop an immunity to the solution
• Triple rinse mops and hang in a ventilated area to dry
• Wash all rags in a germicidal detergent and dry thoroughly
• Avoid “topping off” germicidal detergent spray bottles; each bottle must be filled fresh during each cleaning to avoid diluting the power of the solution
• Employ a “mechanical means” to the cleaning process; staff must make contact with all surfaces with physical touch versus simply applying a spray
• Use adequate staffing and supply them with protective goggles and gloves, which are OSHA standards when working with the concentrated germicidal detergent.
He also recommends that anyone employed, visiting or using a facility be provided with proper supplies and a process to reinforce correct handwashing. Good hygiene can substantially reduce transmission of MRSA and lower infection rates. BFS strongly encourages business owners, facility managers and the general public to visit its Web site at www.bugajewski.com or contact the Company directly for facility cleaning and maintenance tips. According to Bugajewski, the biggest misconception about MRSA is that “It can’t happen to me.”
Bugajewski is prepared to show facilities who are interested in how to control the outbreak of the organism a training video made by Coastal Safety and Environmental Team called MRSA Awareness. Each participant will receive a handbook and hands on instruction. He will also discuss how the organism can grow and multiply on a variety of surfaces in your environments.