Wednesday, August 06, 2008
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Victoria Nahum decided to dedicate her life to raising awareness of healthcare-acquired infections after three family members became infected in less than a year. Nahum and her husband founded Safe Care Campaign to educate hospital workers and the public at large about healthcare-acquired infections, also known as “HAIs”. Nahum, who travels around the country to tell her story, will deliver her speech to the Presbyterian Hospital and the Charlotte community at Presbyterian Hospital’s auditorium at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, August 13.
In her program “Change One Thing, Change Everything — The Power of One,” Nahum will share her amazing and heart-rending story of her three family members who were hospitalized in three different states within 10 months’ time. One of these family members was Nahum’s stepson, Josh, who died as result of his infection at age 27. Josh’s story has been featured on a number of national and local TV and radio programs including CBS Evening News with Katie Couric and Fox News, as well as CNN’s “The Empowered Patient.” Nahum has not only witnessed the consequences of HAIs, but she also has experienced them firsthand. An infection survivor herself, Nahum has carried staph in her chest wall for nearly six years.
Presbyterian Hospital welcomes Nahum and her testimony as a part of the organization’s continued commitment to quality care and the remarkable patient experience. Presbyterian Hospital has long emphasized the importance of infection prevention efforts through their nationally-acclaimed hand-washing campaign that was recently recognized by The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/01/AR2008080102591.html).
Nahum’s speech will kick-off a visit by the Kimberly-Clark “Not on My Watch” HAI bus tour. The bus tour, which will take place from August 12 -14, will involve stops at Presbyterian Hospital and Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville, as well as some class offerings for hospital workers at the Presbyterian Hospital Matthews location.
The HAI bus, which is a 45- foot-long, mobile classroom outfitted for interactive training, continuing education (CE) and continuing medical education (CME) courses on HAI management and prevention, will offer caregivers a place to update their licenses by gaining credit hours. The inside of the bus provides interactive educational programs, individual computer workstations, satellite Internet connectivity and online educational courses to educate healthcare workers and keep patients safe.
Kimberly-Clark Health Care launched the tour to help workers and support their efforts to reduce the spread of HAIs in U.S. hospitals. As part of the Not on My Watch campaign, they introduced the 30-city mobile tour, visiting 39 hospitals in eight months with the HAI Education Bus.
Editor’s Note: All media please call the media hotline, 704-617-2631, for directions, parking instructions and a media escort for both Victoria Nahum’s speech and to tour the HAI bus. The HAI bus will be available for media tours at Presbyterian Hospital from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Wednesday, August 13.
