Hospital Sepsis (Churchill-Wexler, 1959)

This film explores the problem of hospital sepsis. The narrator first explains that in the 1700s, when many hospitals were built, people knew nothing of the spread and isolation of germs. After the discoveries of Pasteur and Lister, people became much more cognizant of ways to prevent spread of infection, but it is still a problem in hospitals today. The film uses the example of a patient named Mrs. Sarah Allen who has staph infection that results in boils and pimples. When she is admitted into the hospital, the staff takes cultures of her room before and after she occupies it, from the bedding, air, and floor. As explained through line and bar charts, Mrs. Allen is clearly the source of hospital infection. The film identifies the agents for spreading her germs, including ventilation, hospital personnel, linens, cleaning supplies, and drinking water containers. The narrator then gives some solutions - bacterial agents should be put in humidifying water in air conditioners, people with infections should not work in hospitals, beds should be made very carefully, and germicide should be used to clean the room frequently and should be put in the ice cubes of the water that patients drink. The film emphasizes the importance of isolation, explaining that in order to achieve this, some hospitals may need to completely remodel. In conclusion, the narrator explains that this is a real problem that deserves attention and that hospitals must not let their guards down.

Learn more about this film and search its transcript at NLM Digital Collections: http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/8200291A.

Learn more about the National Library of Medicine's historical audiovisuals program at: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/collectio...