Attention whore claims she has MRSA; store destroys merchandise - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Cyborg Ninja · 11-10-2007, 06:37 PM

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...i_tab01_layout

If the attention whore involved and the management aren't fired, then I don't know what the world is coming to.

Body of article for the non link clickers:

Quote:

An employee's remark about a potential staph infection – which caused an Indiana clothing store to close its doors and ultimately destroy merchandise worth hundreds of thousands of dollars – has turned out to be nothing more than a staff rumor gone wrong.

On Nov. 3, an employee of the Liz Claiborne outlet store at Michigan City's Lighthouse Outlet Mall told a co-worker she was infected with methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus, a drug-resistant germ also referred to as MRSA.

Managers immediately closed the store, which was subsequently tested and cleaned, while the company tried to confirm the employee's infection. The tests came back negative on Thursday, said company spokeswoman Jane Randel.

Likewise, tests of the store revealed no traces of the bacteria, Randel said.

Doctors have cleared the unidentified employee to return to work.

"We have nothing that leads us to think that anyone's safety has been jeopardized," said Joanne Hardacker, nursing supervisor for the LaPorte County Health Department. The employee in question, who was never hospitalized, probably had some other minor skin infection, she said.

Staph bacteria -- which exist without incident on almost 30 percent of humans -- must be spread through direct or shared-surface contact, Hardacker said. Transmission is prevented by covering infected skin with clothing or by washing one's hands.

Still, they elected to do an extensive cleaning as a precaution -- and to assuage nervous customers.

"We were overly cautious, because we would really never want anyone to be endangered," Randel said. "We care very deeply about our consumers and want to make sure people feel comfortable going to the store."

It was lingering odors from powerful cleaning agents, not some unidentified infection, that rendered much of the store's merchandise unusable for sale, Randel said.

The store, one of 76 that the New York City-based retailer operates throughout the U.S., is presently restocking, and is expected to reopen its doors next week.

The woman, Randel added, was still employed as of Friday afternoon.

DaveOrion · 11-10-2007, 07:22 PM

They wont fire the attention whore immediately, although they should. They'll wait till the media spotlight dims then give her the ax.

P.S. If I was a woman & shaved my legs I'd reply to your thread in the ladies lounge CN. Does shaving my balls count???

amonkie · 11-10-2007, 07:37 PM

Cyborg Ninja,

what would be your reasoning for the management to be fired? I could understand penalizing an employee for crying wolf in a way that cost the store tens of thousands of dollars. The management though - I'd like to hear your thoughts on that.

analog · 11-10-2007, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyborg Ninja

If the attention whore involved and the management aren't fired, then I don't know what the world is coming to.

......and?

This seems more like an interesting story you found on the net, and not something to discuss, really.

Can you add something to that, maybe something you wanted to talk about as a result of the paranoia? Maybe how people are quick to bring attention on themselves and why that might be, or how MRSA has gained sudden publicity and is the new illness of choice for hypochondriacs?

Cyborg Ninja · 11-11-2007, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amonkie

Cyborg Ninja,

what would be your reasoning for the management to be fired? I could understand penalizing an employee for crying wolf in a way that cost the store tens of thousands of dollars. The management though - I'd like to hear your thoughts on that.

Instead of shutting down the store for a few days in order to wait for the test results to come back, they decided to "clean" every single item — without knowing that it would destroy most of the merchandise.

Infinite_Loser · 11-11-2007, 11:00 AM

Why should the management be penalized? The employee, on the other hand, should be fined a hefty amount if not fired.

MSD · 11-11-2007, 11:20 AM

This shit never would have happened if people were prescribed antibiotics responsibly and weren't so germ phobic that everything needs to be antibacterial.

analog · 11-15-2007, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct

This shit never would have happened if people were prescribed antibiotics responsibly and weren't so germ phobic that everything needs to be antibacterial.

I agree with both sentiments.

However, the biggest reason for the superbug bacterias isn't the overuse of antibiotics, but rather the misuse on the part of those taking them. People would take a few days' worth until they felt better, and then would stop taking them, "saving" the remaining pills for later, or figuring they didn't need to keep taking them when they were feeling better.

The bacteria would then be left weakened, but not killed off, and subsequently would live to fight another day, slowly evolving and mutating with each progressive step how to battle the antibiotics they're exposed to.

The main reason doctors are pulling back on the number of antibiotics prescribed is primarily because they're trying to do some damage control, allowing people's natural defenses to take care of things, if possible. Plus, they know that no matter what they do, many people will not listen when they're told you're likely going to feel better before you're done with the pills- but you must take all of it. By relaxing the amount of antibiotics going out, they're minimizing the number of bugs that get exposed to current and newer antibiotics, so that they don't mutate/evolve an adjustment to those as well.

11-10-2007, 07:22 PM	#2 (permalink)
DaveOrion Playing With Fire Location: Disaster Area	They wont fire the attention whore immediately, although they should. They'll wait till the media spotlight dims then give her the ax. P.S. If I was a woman & shaved my legs I'd reply to your thread in the ladies lounge CN. Does shaving my balls count??? __________________ *Syriana...have you ever tried liquid MDMA?....Liquid MDMA? No....Arash, when you wanna do this?.....After prayer... Last edited by DaveOrion; 11-10-2007 at 07:26 PM.. Reason: Automerged Doublepost*

11-10-2007, 07:37 PM	#3 (permalink)
amonkie Drifting Administrator Location: Windy City	Cyborg Ninja, what would be your reasoning for the management to be fired? I could understand penalizing an employee for crying wolf in a way that cost the store tens of thousands of dollars. The management though - I'd like to hear your thoughts on that. __________________ Calling from deep in the heart, from where the eyes can't see and the ears can't hear, from where the mountain trails end and only love can go... ~~~ Three Rivers Hare Krishna

11-11-2007, 11:00 AM	#6 (permalink)
Infinite_Loser Junkie Location: Lake Mary, FL	Why should the management be penalized? The employee, on the other hand, should be fined a hefty amount if not fired. __________________ I believe in equality; Everyone is equally inferior to me.

11-11-2007, 11:20 AM	#7 (permalink)
MSD The sky calls to us ... Super Moderator Location: CT	This shit never would have happened if people were prescribed antibiotics responsibly and weren't so germ phobic that everything needs to be antibacterial.