Something Rotten in Pennsylvania?

You may have noted the passing during the last two weeks of Rep. John Murtha (D-PA). The first notice of his medical problem recorded in The Washington Post said that he had contracted an infection during surgery for his gall bladder. By the time of his burial and obituary (as noted in the same paper) the cause of his demise is given as "complications following gall bladder surgery". Technically that is correct but it seems to me a euphemistic way of covering the truth. It implies that something to do with the gall bladder killed him when in fact it was the hospital that killed him.

This scandalous state of affairs is being covered up all over the United States. Most hospitals seem to be infected with various bacteria and viruses that are killing more people than the injuries and diseases that took them there in the first place. Two years ago this happened to my cousin's husband. A perfectly healthy man got a broken leg repaired. Ended up on life support for three months with an insidious infection in his lungs - from the anaesthetic equipment - and then died.

I was told more than five years ago never to even go to visit someone in a hospital if I had a papercut! And I don't.

In the olden days each hospital room was completely disinfected between patients. Entire bed was washed down not just the sheets. Have you seen anyone doing that lately?