Help Pick the Next Hand Hygiene Frog! 

World Hand Hygiene Day was earlier this month and a good reminder of the importance of hand hygiene and the proper ways to implement, monitor and report it. However, here at Carilion we focus on hand hygiene 365 days a year.

Hand hygiene is the foundation for excellent patient care and a requirement among employees for reporting agencies. It’s a simple and effective infection prevention strategy that makes a big difference in keeping our patients safe and saving our hospitals’ resources.  

The best practices we follow for hand hygiene also reflect the Leapfrog reporting agency’s standards: 

• Monitoring
• Providing feedback
• Training and educating
• Building infrastructure and culture
• Focusing on best practices to ensure these standards are met

FROG (Friction Rubs Out Germs) 

This fun acronym reminds us that proper hand hygiene involves rubbing hands together to create friction.

For proper hand hygiene, lather your hands by rubbing them together with soap. Make sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers and under your nails. This creates friction that helps lift dirt, grease and microbes from the skin.  

Your Vote Counts! 

We’re refreshing our Carilion frog and want your help picking our next mascot! This frog appears on posters, articles and more as a way to remind us about proper hand hygiene. Which is your favorite? Help us decide by adding your vote in the comments below by Friday, May 31!   

​From Our Leaders: The Importance of Hand Hygiene

Hear from our leaders about why hand hygiene is important: 

Nancy Howell Agee, Chief Executive Officer  

"I understood the importance of hand washing long before I entered nursing school. As a young child, my mother always told me to wash my hands so I wouldn’t get sick.

Today, there’s plenty of research to support what my mom taught me—hand washing is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs. It’s also the single most effective way to reduce healthcare-transmitted infections and can even prevent death.

According to the CDC, researchers estimate around 1 million deaths per year could be prevented if everyone routinely washed their hands.”

Rawle “Tony” Seupaul, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive

"Patient safety is our highest priority. In an effort to provide the safest patient experience possible, our teams follow national best practices set for hand hygiene safety standards. Doing so ensures our healthcare system is viewed as one of the safest that prioritizes patient safety and care.

I encourage everyone to use the tools available to record hand hygiene observations so we can continue to showcase how we’re excelling in this area." 

Tami Frost, RN, Chief Nursing Officer

"Proper hand hygiene is so important to keep our patients safe. We know that washing hands for at least 15 seconds removes germs and prevents illness, which is especially important to protect people with weakened immune systems.

Observing and reporting on our hand hygiene practices is as essential as implementing them. If we don’t document them, they didn’t happen, so be sure to use our reporting tools regularly to ensure we maintain our high standards for hand hygiene.

Whether you work in patient care or not, it’s up to all of us to reduce the spread of germs."

Questions?

If you have questions about hand hygiene or want to get involved in the hand hygiene committee, contact Angela Slough, Infection Prevention, at amslough@carilionclinic.org.

For questions about ambulatory hand hygiene monitoring program, contact Bray Nemetz-Gardner at bknemetzgardner@carilionclinic.org.