Hand Hygiene: What's the Big Fuss?

With the continued downward trend in the number of new COVID-19 cases in our community and a welcomed return to normalcy, it might seem like we could loosen up on hand hygiene.

The truth is, exercising good hand hygiene is as important now as ever!

There are a number of reasons why all of us—whether we work in a clinical or non-patient-facing environment—should keep hand hygiene top of mind—but reducing the risk of infection tops the list.

Because hand hygiene is vital to providing excellent patient care and is a priority for our organization, we asked some of our executive leaders to share their thoughts on the subject.

President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee

“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 health-care-transmitted infections.”

It only makes sense, given that health care workers’ hands are the most common mode for transmitting bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms that can cause disease. Practicing excellent hand hygiene promotes a safe environment for our patients, care team members and anyone who enters our campus.

Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Patrice M. Weiss, M.D.

“I can’t stress the importance of hand hygiene enough. We know that washing hands for at least 15 seconds removes germs and prevents illnesses, which is especially important to protect people with weakened immune systems."

Germs from unwashed hands are transferred to other objects and can get into foods and drinks, creating even more opportunities to spread them.  

“That’s why clean hands are everyone’s responsibility. Whether you work in patient care areas or in non-patient areas, it’s up to all of us to reduce the spread of germs.”

Chief Nursing Officer Meg Scheaffel

Hand hygiene is also a national patient safety goal for The Joint Commission, who is coming soon! All Carilion Clinic facilities will have a triennial Joint Commission hospital accreditation survey in the coming months. As surveyors are rounding, they will be paying close attention to hand hygiene practices.

“Unfortunately, hand hygiene non-compliance is a common Infection Control citation organizations receive. Hand hygiene must be a priority for our patients' safety."

Excellent handwashing promotes patient safety and a healthy work environment. Hand hygiene will be an important focus and hot topic in the upcoming Joint Commission onsite survey. Our hand hygiene efforts and results are included in the Leapfrog hospital safety assessment.

“Leapfrog provides feedback on best practices for hospitals to follow when it comes to patient safety. By following the standards set by the CDC based on evidence-based practice, we can be sure we are providing appropriate and safe patient care as it relates to hand hygiene."

What We're Doing

With a focus on hand hygiene, support from leadership and collaboration by many, our hand hygiene committee is making sure there are proper hand washing supplies in all of our locations, which includes:

• Placing dispensers in convenient locations
• Ordering products from the warehouse
• Restocking soap and hand towels
• Maintenance of dispensers
• Product safety research
• Education about how to properly wash hands

The hand hygiene committee is made up of employees from various departments and works to make everyone aware of the importance of preventing the spread of infection through proper hand-washing. They meet monthly and are always welcoming new members! If you’re interested in participating, contact the infection preventionist for your area to get involved. 

What You Can Do

• Remember hand hygiene is one of the greatest ways to prevent infections, and to prevent contamination when doffing PPE and working with patient care equipment—it's the foundation to providing excellent patient care!

• Stay up to date on hand hygiene guidelines. Hand hygiene criteria has been updated for 2021 by LeapFrog for inpatient departments and some hospital outpatient departments, which impacts the average number of required monthly observations submissions and varies based on your location.

• Follow proper hand-washing practices.

For More Information

• To learn how to submit an observation, talk to the infection preventionist in your area.
• If you have questions about the new observation requirements, talk to your manager.
• Visit the Inpatient Hand Hygiene information page.
• Refer to these articles:
  • Inside Carilion: Hand Hygiene: It's Still Important!
  • Inside Carilion: The History of Hand Hygiene in Health Care
  • CarilionLiving.com: Do You Really Know How To Wash Your Hands