Hand Hygiene Works...Again
Time and time again, we hear the statistics. Hand hygiene works. We hear it in agriculture, food processing, food service, and even in our everyday lives. The significance of hand hygiene is becoming more and more prevalent in our nation's struggling healthcare system.
Yes, healthcare costs continue to increase, harming corporations and families of all sizes and income levels. But the public is generally blind to the real problem in our hospitals - Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAI). HAIs are the fourth largest killer in the United States. HAI deaths exceed that of automobile accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS combined. The figure is astounding. Even more shocking, out of every 20 people that are treated in America’s hospitals, one will contract a nosocomial infection. And those figures are rising worldwide.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1/3 of all healthcare acquired infections can be prevented through the implementation of a hand hygiene program. And it's not just the regulatory and accrediting bodies pushing this initiative.
This month Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, released an intervention study on the effects of hand hygiene promotion at the University of Geneva Hospitals in Switzerland. The study was conducted in the neonatal unit of the hospital from March 2001 to February 2004. In short, the three phase study introduced a comprehensive hand hygiene education and promotion program to the neonatal unit. Compliance gradually increased from 42 to 55%.
Proof that hand hygiene works? The hand hygiene intervention at the Children's Hospital, University of Geneva Hospitals resulted in a 60% decrease in nosocomial infections among very-low-birth-weight neonates. That's a big number, especially when considering the number of infant's lives that were saved.
So why is hand hygiene compliance in healthcare facilities reported at a frightening average of 20 to 50%? This is yet another extensive topic. Stay tuned.
Yes, healthcare costs continue to increase, harming corporations and families of all sizes and income levels. But the public is generally blind to the real problem in our hospitals - Healthcare Acquired Infections (HAI). HAIs are the fourth largest killer in the United States. HAI deaths exceed that of automobile accidents, breast cancer, and AIDS combined. The figure is astounding. Even more shocking, out of every 20 people that are treated in America’s hospitals, one will contract a nosocomial infection. And those figures are rising worldwide.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1/3 of all healthcare acquired infections can be prevented through the implementation of a hand hygiene program. And it's not just the regulatory and accrediting bodies pushing this initiative.
This month Pediatrics, the Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, released an intervention study on the effects of hand hygiene promotion at the University of Geneva Hospitals in Switzerland. The study was conducted in the neonatal unit of the hospital from March 2001 to February 2004. In short, the three phase study introduced a comprehensive hand hygiene education and promotion program to the neonatal unit. Compliance gradually increased from 42 to 55%.
Proof that hand hygiene works? The hand hygiene intervention at the Children's Hospital, University of Geneva Hospitals resulted in a 60% decrease in nosocomial infections among very-low-birth-weight neonates. That's a big number, especially when considering the number of infant's lives that were saved.
So why is hand hygiene compliance in healthcare facilities reported at a frightening average of 20 to 50%? This is yet another extensive topic. Stay tuned.
posted by meritech at
3:53 PM
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