In 2000, Jeanine Thomas was admitted to a hospital for surgery to repair her broken ankle after she slipped and fell on ice. This week, Thomas shared her story of contracting Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from germ-ridden instruments used during the surgery and ultimately contracting sepsis and C. difficile as well. 

“I didn’t think I’d still be here talking about this 25 years later,” she told the participants at the 2025 Healthcare Surfaces Institute Summit at ISSA headquarters in Rosemont, Illinois. 

Thomas was a speaker at the summit, organized by the Healthcare Surfaces Institute (HSI) a division of ISSA, with the goal of collaboration on actionable strategies for improving healthcare surface safety and patient outcomes.  

Linda Lybert, HSI executive director, opened the event by thanking the participants for attending the first summit since the COVID-19 pandemic and reviewing the work the institute has accomplished in bringing the role of surfaces in the transmission of pathogens to light. “Surfaces are an overlooked issue; nobody really talks about them,” she said. 

After merging with ISSA in 2024, HSI has resumed its educational webinars, reestablished its summit, and began a podcast series. Future plans include the launch of an ISSA healthcare platform. 

At the conclusion of her opening remarks Lybert introduced Thomas, the founder and president of the MRSA Survivors Network. Thomas is a frequent speaker advocating for awareness of the hazards of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and the importance of HAI screening for high-risk patients. She has also worked with legislators to create laws requiring mandatory public reporting of MRSA and other HAIs. 

“Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health threat,” Thomas said. “We have not done everything we could to prevent MRSA and other AMRs in U.S. healthcare facilities.” 

Thomas told her story of entering a hospital for surgery and her subsequent release after what appeared to be a successful procedure, only to be admitted a few days later because she was not feeling well. She was readmitted on a Friday evening, so the results of the tests she was given did not come back until Monday morning. Not realizing she had MRSA, the hospital staff were not able to administer the correct antibiotics in a timely manner. As a result, Thomas contracted sepsis, went into a coma, and her organs started shutting down. She credits the nurses for saving her life, and she remained in the hospital for a month as staff worked to save her leg.   

In the years that followed, Thomas was in and out of the hospital with a rare form of cancer, and several infections, including C. difficile, staph, and a bone marrow infection. She underwent multiple surgeries and took numerous medications, which negatively affected her immunity. However, she remained a strong voice advocating for the prevention of HAIs and the humane treatment of patients.  

“We need a culture change; we need to bring humanity back to healthcare,” Thomas said. “I’m here for all those who don’t have a voice, whose voice was cut short by a medical error. HAIs are medical errors.” 

Solving the HAI crisis requires a comprehensive approach, according to Thomas, Lybert, and the summit participants. The approach includes patient screening, surface disinfection, strict hand hygiene protocols, and good antibiotic stewardship. 

Following Thomas’ remarks, 12 experts representing the healthcare, science, manufacturing, cleaning, and built environment industries participated in lightning talks. Each offered their opinions and insights on the same three questions:  

1. Why are we unable to find sustainable solutions to mitigate HAIs? 

1. What are the barriers to success? 

1. How can the healthcare value chain address the root causes of HAIs? 

The speakers identified many reasons for the inability to mitigate HAIs, from lack of disinfection standardization and weaknesses in human behavior and compliance to cost and financial pressures and the emergence/reemergence of evolving pathogens. They all stressed the need for improved surveillance and real-time monitoring of HAIs, standardized infection control training, and regular communication between departments. 

“Unfortunately, there is never one thing we can do to solve this, there is never a silver bullet,” said Joanna Mills, director of infection prevention for John Muir Health in the East Bay area of San Francisco, explaining the need for a comprehensive approach. 

Jessica Dangles, executive director of the Certification Board of Infection Control and Epidemiology, pointed to a lack of buy-in from leadership as a weakness that could be solved by removing the silos between departments. “Infection preventionists need recognition and buy-in at the table,” she said.   

The 2025 Healthcare Surfaces Summit resumes today. For more information on HSI, visit healthcaresurfacesinstitute.org. 

On Sunday, the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) reported the second measles death of a Texas resident in the ongoing outbreak that has spread to 19 counties in the state. The school-aged child who tested positive for measles was hospitalized in Lubbock and passed away on Thursday from what the child’s doctors described as measles pulmonary failure. The child was not vaccinated and had no reported underlying conditions.

As of April 4, 481 cases of measles have been confirmed in the outbreak since late January, TDSHS said. Most of the cases are in children. Fifty-six people have been hospitalized over the course of the outbreak. While Lubbock County holds about 7% of reported cases, Gaines County, Texas, has nearly 66% of confirmed cases, the most in the state. Gaines County also has the third highest vaccination exemption rate in the state.

The first unvaccinated school-aged child with no underlying conditions died of measles complications on Feb. 26 in Texas. Almost all the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown.

Measles is a highly contagious respiratory illness, which can cause life-threatening illness to anyone who is not protected against the virus. During a measles outbreak, about one in five children who get sick will need hospital care and one in 20 will develop pneumonia, TDSHS said. Rarely, measles can lead to swelling of the brain and death. It can also cause pregnancy complications, such as premature birth and babies with low birth weight.

Meanwhile, the New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) reported the state’s case count for measles has risen to 54. While most cases remain in Lea County, the outbreak spread to Eddy County, which has reported two cases. As of April 4, two Lea County residents have required hospitalization. NMDOH recorded the death of one unvaccinated Lea County resident on March 6, the second in the outbreak.

Measles cases in Oklahoma remained at 10 as of April 4, according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). All cases are linked through exposures to household or extended family; and initial cases reported exposure to the measles outbreak in West Texas and New Mexico, OSDH said.

As of April 2, Kansas Department of Health and Environment also has confirmed 24 measles cases in six counties. Kansas reported its first measles case on March 13.

On March 31, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed a case of measles in an unvaccinated adult residing in Pueblo, Colorado. This marked Colorado’s first measle case of the year. The Colorado individual recently traveled to an area of Mexico experiencing an ongoing measles outbreak.

As of April 3, a total of 607 confirmed measles cases have been reported in the United States this year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (CDC is aware of probable measles cases still being reported, and the case count is higher.) This year’s cases are well above last year’s total of 285 measles cases, and the highest number of cases since 2019.

Measles cases have been reported by 21 states: Alaska, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington.

Outside the multistate Texas outbreak, Ohio has the highest reported number of cases with 10. Ohio Department of Health (ODH) announced a measles outbreak in Ashtabula County and one confirmed case of a visitor in Knox County who exposed others to measles in Knox and nearby counties. Ashtabula County has identified 10 measles cases. Nine are linked to an adult male reported on March 20 as the state’s first measles case of 2025. None of the individuals were vaccinated.

“Given the measles activity in Texas, New Mexico, and other states around the country, we’re disappointed but not surprised we now have several cases here in Ohio and known exposure in some counties,” said Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, ODH director. “This disease can be very serious, even deadly, but it is almost entirely avoidable by being properly vaccinated. Measles is especially dangerous for young children, so I strongly urge all parents across Ohio to make sure your children are vaccinated. It is a crucial layer of protection that can save lives.”

Ohio had 90 cases of measles in 2022, when an outbreak in central Ohio totaled 85 cases. The state had one measles case in 2023 and seven in 2024.