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Health Care Safety Being Debated in Las Vegas

In Las Vegas, hundreds of doctors, nurses and other health professionals are getting together for a two-day summit. Their goal is to improve patient safety in Nevada in the wake of the nation's worst hepatitis C outbreak.

State health division officials believe the outbreak, which stands at nine confirmed cases in Nevada right now, has been a catalyst for improving the quality of health care, especially patient safety and infection control.

"That was a wake-up call and I'm proud that Nevada has responded to this. We've analyzed what went wrong and it turns out there were problems with the whole system, not just one area," said infectious disease specialist Dr. Mary Guinan. "What we're doing now is addressing those problems so that the whole system is working together to the maximum protection of the patient."

Dr. Guinan is with UNLV's School of Community Health Sciences. She's one of more than 200 doctors, nurses, medical social workers and other health professionals taking part in the two-day health summit at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas. The focus is infection control with an emphasis on safe injection practices.

The conference also includes numerous exhibits by medical supply companies who say they've also seen an increase in the demand for infection control products -- everything from retractable needle systems to hand sanitizers that don't cause chafing and cracking.

"It's a hot button topic right now, especially here in Las Vegas and Nevada. And it's not just the hospitals, it's the smaller health care facilities that are also very interested," said Ron Eickhoff with Steris Corp.

And in a few months, Nevada will become the testing ground for a nationwide consumer education effort -- with slogans and flyers all around the valley. It's called the One and Only campaign, and it's designed to teach patients what to look for, ask for, and expect from any health care provider who gives them an injection.