I am a CNA who contracted MRSA while working in a LTC Facility. I have always felt that something needed to be done to isolate residents to a certain area of the home. Especially because there were 6-8 other employees that contracted this disease before I did, so it apparently was being spread all over the building.

I suspect that if we all got tested we’d all be positive for MRSA- nursing home, assisted living and hospital aides. Perhaps even home health care aides.

MRSA lives in our noses. It becomes active when we get sick or our immune system isn’t working good. Just because we get sick doesn’t mean we’re gonna come down with a full blown MRSA infested infection though. There is a huge difference between being colonized and being infected.

Sherry I would love to know your employer dealt with this as well. Like Holly, I’ve heard of more than a few nursing facilities that deny claims and fight them tooth and nail. I wonder if, upon employment, everyone should be tested? If positive, treated. If not, re-tested yearly. Like TB, this is a public health problem and it’s even more so in communities where large groups of people reside (nursing homes). I suppose universal precautions might prevent it’s spread but I question that…MRSA lives on door knobs.

I suppose that, IF all staff were tested for MRSA upon employment there could be a case here. Standard precautions should protect nursing staff from MRSA. Although I do know a few aides who worked with patients who had trachs, and active MRSA within the trach sites; the patients coughed and spewed debris onto the faces of said aides…several of whom came down with serious respiratory infections within a week. They all filed worker comp and the claims were approved.