Health system forum to address MRSA awareness

For the Cumberland Times-News

CUMBERLAND - The Western Maryland Health System is hosting a forum to educate community members about what precautions can be taken to prevent and reduce the risk of infection from Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus (MRSA), a deadly strain of bacteria commonly found on the skin that has been making headlines in Maryland and throughout the nation.

The forum will be held on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the Braddock campus auditorium.

WMHS is joining other Maryland hospitals in a statewide initiative coordinated by the Maryland Hospital Association, which is designed to not only provide communities with information about reducing their risks, but to review the differences between health care-associated MRSA and community-associated MRSA and share the strategies hospitals are using to prevent and reduce MRSA and other infections.

"MRSA has been in the news a lot lately and it is an issue of great concern for everyone in the community," said Jamie Karstetter, assistant director of Nursing and Infection Control at WMHS, who will be the moderator of the forum. "Many deaths have been attributed to MRSA and there is new evidence that points to the fact that infections from the bacteria are increasing much faster than previously expected."

Karstetter said it is important for everyone in the community, from hospitals and health care providers to schools and community members, to work together to prevent the spread of this and other infections.

"The community forum is a chance to learn what each of us can do to fight infections like MRSA, which are resistant to most antibiotics," he said.

Speakers for the WMHS community forum on MRSA Awareness include: Dr. Reed Erickson, WMHS Emergency Department; Dr. Michael Levitas, pediatrician, Children's Medical Group; Robert Manasse; Brenda Gross, registered nurse, WMHS Infection Control; and a representative from the Allegany County Health Department.

To register, call (301) 723-6437 or visit the WMHS Web site at www.wmhs.com for more information.