DUBLIN, Ga. — Your mom probably reminded you often to brush your teeth, and now the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin is doing the same thing.
It turns out it's the kind of advice that could save your life.
The VA center just recently launched a new program to tackle pneumonia.
Surprisingly, it starts with brushing your teeth. It turns out it can also prevent a lot of other potentially deadly health problems, and they're already seeing results.
Months ago, the VA center saw a high number of pneumonia cases.
"We were like 110% over national average," said Michelle Lord.
Lord is a dental hygienist at the VA. She says the number of pneumonia cases at the hospital dropped significantly since February.
"We are actually below national average. The month of July we had zero cases," she said.
She credits their new program, H.A.P.P.E.N. It stands for Hospital Acquired Pneumonia Prevention by Engaging Nurses.
The goal is to improve oral care among veterans staying at the VA, as well as those staying in the Medical Surgical Unit, in hopes of reducing hospital acquired pneumonia.
"When a patient is admitted into the hospital within 24 hours, especially if they have to stay over a long period of time, the bacteria in the mouth multiplies over five times. If you stay for 48 hours, the chances of getting pneumonia increase," she said.
Lord says the last thing on a patient's mind when they are struggling with other health issues is to brush their teeth.
"What happens is when they go several days without taking care of their oral care, the bacteria in the mouth can be aspirated into the lungs," Lord said.
She says reducing hospital acquired pneumonia is even more important with the high number of COVID-19 cases.
"With COVID you don't want your lungs to be compromised in any kind of way. If you are in the hospital and you end up catching pneumonia alongside with COVID, your chances of making it out will sadly decrease," she said.
Through H.A.P.P.E.N, VA nurse managers are learning to train their staff to keep tabs on the oral care of patients there.
They will also help veterans with their oral hygiene each day and teach them why it is so important.
"I believe that if you explain to them that it's not just to clean their mouth, or make their breath smell good -- it could save their life," Lord said.
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