Safer Hospitals: One Mother’s Passionate Campaign

by Jennifer Merritt

It happened three times in less than a year, in three different hospitals in three states to three generations of Victoria Nahum's family—herself, her father-in-law and her stepson Josh (pictured, right). It took Josh’s life at the age of 27.

Each year, 1.7 million patients acquire infections in the hospital, and about 99,000 of them die, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It was a shocking statistic Victoria couldn't wrap her mind around, considering that most cases could be avoided by steps as simple as hand-washing.

So she set out to change it. Along with her husband, Armando, Victoria founded the Safe Care Campaign in Josh's honor. The Georgia corporation is dedicated to preventing hospital-acquired infections and provides a free online guide to patient advocacy, as well as instructional videos and interviews with experts about proper sanitizing. (You can also view patient safety videos at The Patient Channel.)

She points out that we educate ourselves in order to drive cars -- even before going scuba diving on vacation -- but not before we are admitted to the hospital. "What you don't know can hurt you, so the solution is to know what's involved in the procedure and find out what you can do to be more proactive," she says.

In addition to these five steps to help prevent infection, Victoria recommends asking a close friend or relative to be your advocate during any procedure that requires a hospital stay. Your advocate should be someone who knows how to speak up. No matter if it's doctor, nurse or visitor, "You don't need to be rude about it, but you do need to say, 'I'm sorry, but I didn't see you sanitize your hands, would you mind?'" Victoria suggests, since bacteria are transmitted primarily on the hands of health-care providers.

The purpose behind the Safe Care Campaign isn't to scare or place blame, but to remind you that you do have a role in your health care. This is evident when Victoria talks about Josh, the inspiration behind the campaign.

"When Josh was in the ICU, you might as well have put me in a space shuttle," she recalls. "I didn't know anything. When he died, I couldn't reconcile myself to it. I needed to know why. When I realized why, it gave me a reason to research what had happened and then we thought, 'Now what?' Suing isn't going to help bring him back.

"It helps me now to know that Josh's name is doing something positive, and it's going to make a difference, rather than just trying to finger point and get money from a hospital that didn't do it on purpose," she says. "He died for a reason now. That gives us some hope."