CBS2 Exclusive: Woman Blames New Jersey Hospital For Possible Exposure To Antibiotic Resistant Superbug
EDISON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A hospital in Middlesex County is facing questions about whether they put a patient at risk for a superbug infection.
The Woodbridge resident -- who didn't wish to be identified -- says JFK Medical Center in Edison kept her in the dark about the potentially hazardous situation. As a result, she now has to wear a medical mask for the next 48 hours until she finds out if she has MRSA -- a contagious, antibiotic resistant staph bacteria that leads to potentially dangerous infections.
"Nobody can work, nobody can go to school, our lives are totally on hold now," she tells CBS2's Tracee Carrasco.
The 30-year-old woman says she was given a room with another patient after being admitted to the hospital late Sunday night for complications due to asthma.
When she noticed a "contact precaution" sign and protective gear hanging on the wall, she asked her nurse if she was in danger.
"She assured me the girl was not sick and she just had surgery, and that was not there for her purposes," the woman said. "It was just left there from somebody else, she straight lied to me."
Believing everything was okay, she spent the next two days in the room -- even having her daughter and husband visit.
She didn't learn the truth until she helped to change her roommate's bandage.
"She said 'Oh yeah, I have to get this dressing off, I have this little infection called MRSA. They said I can't have this surgery until that's cleared up,'," the woman said. "So then I went into the nurse's station and confronted them, they admitted that was the case and then from there they advised me not to go back into the room."
A spokesperson for the hospital tells CBS2 that "JFK adheres to all state and federal guidelines regarding patient safety and infection control." The spokesperson would not go into detail about those guidelines.
According to the latest national report card for hospitals -- coincidentally released on Wednesday -- the hospital received an "A" rating for safety. Back home with her family, it's a rating this woman can't help but question.
"Knowing my medical history, how dare you put me in a position where my immune system could be compromised," she said.
The hospital tells CBS2 it takes any issues regarding patients and visitors very seriously, and will follow up with the incident.
