State Senator Mary Ann Handley
April 30, 2008
Handley Hails Enactment of Law to Require Hospital Staph Protocol
Governor’s Signature Caps Comprehensive Effort
State Senator Mary Ann Handley (D-Manchester), the Senate Chair of the legislature's Public Health Committee, today welcomed Governor Rell's signature on a new law to require Connecticut hospitals to have a plan on hand to reduce the incidence of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). An estimated 100,000 people a year die in the nation's hospitals as a result of a MRSA infection, Senator Handley said.
The bill was a priority of the Public Health Committee this session. Senator Handley said support for the initiative grew as it went through the legislative process and more legislators learned about the very serious and potentially fatal consequences of the infection.
"It's estimated that 85% of all MRSA infections are hospital-based, so if we have in place a strategy at each hospital to combat the infection we can make good progress toward controlling it in our state," Senator Handley said. "This is a critically important public health issue, but it also has significant financial implications, because when a patient winds up infected with MRSA the cost of his or her care rises exponentially."
"According to the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety a test to screen for MRSA takes just over an hour to complete and costs about $42 per patient--a small price to pay for infection control that would avoid so many additional costs," Senator Handley added. "This bill had the endorsement of the Connecticut Hospital Association and the Connecticut Center for Patient Safety throughout the legislative process; I'm grateful to the House for its support in concurrence with the Senate vote earlier this month and for the governor's signature to make this initiative law."
Senator Handley is serving her sixth term; in addition to her responsibility for the Public Health Committee, she is vice-Chair of both the Judiciary and Higher Education and Employment Enhancement Committees. She is a member of the Commerce Committee as well.
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