Continuous Improvement Trumps the Mythical “90%” The shortage of actual data on handwashing compliance in healthcare has evolved into a serious industry-wide overstatement of compliance. Knowing good things happen once a 90% level is achieved, reported handwashing rates quickly climbed to that number. Professional advancement and even bonuses are “earned”, institutionalizing a standard of bad […]
A Successful Culture Change Doubles Handwashing Rates
Data plus leadership records sustainable gains in handwashing behaviors. Culture change is often cited as a requirement where hand washing rates need to be doubled to reach a safe level. The Atrio Restaurant in Carmel, Indiana, lead by Chef Peter Fulgenzi, took on that task, challenging his staff to accept their professional role in serving […]
A Final Touch Like No Other
Multi-emitter UV-C is like a dry disinfectant final step from the bed to the bathroom. For years, we listened to the arguments as UV-C emitters appeared on the scene, critical about shadowed areas and lack of clinical data. Then we watched and listened, realizing UV-C is not a stand-alone solution. Manual cleaning is the first […]
Handwashing: The Clinical Blockage Factor
Fact-based solutions without the facts Evidence-based solutions are driven by facts. This is the lifeblood of most clinicians. But there are no facts when it comes to handwashing, no standards of quality or frequency. Thus, what should be the role of the clinicians in raising handwashing frequency which is largely a behavior change challenge? Handwashing […]
Introducing RubScrub™ & SaniTwice®
Better Hand Cleanliness for the Bedridden Bedridden patients tend to wash their hand less because of the inconvenience. Their contaminated hands endanger themselves as well as their caregivers. Handwashing For Life Healthcare offers two suggestions to boost the power of alcohol hand sanitizers. RubScrub™ is simply a handwash protocol without water. Cleaning steps: 1. Apply […]
The Handwashing For Life® Scoreboard
Real-Time Information and Motivation The Handwashing For Life Scoreboard is a component of ECM, Electronic Compliance Monitoring. It is the scoreboard screen or marquee positioned in clear view of the staff work stations to assure as an indicator to the team of their current handwashing performance. Some technologies will report frequency and others both frequency […]
Help Wanted. Grant Available.
Every hospital and nursing home has an expected infection rate. We like those that are reported as Expected or Actual Infections per 1,000 Patient or Resident Days. The word Expected allows a data normalization factor for providers serving the very seriously immune-compromised. By taking the large base of state averages, differences in susceptibility are automatically […]
Handwashing’s 6th Moment
A trail of risk on the final phase from farm to fork More than a single moment, consider the patient protection value of the collective handwashes from the kitchen to the bed tray. Handwashing For Life Healthcare considers all those washes as one, the 6th Moment™, a reminder that all the patient room precautions can […]
Caring for Caring Hands
The plight of the over-washed under-cleaned hand Caregivers value clean hands in their mission to help heal the vulnerable patients and residents they serve. Nurse Assistants may free their hands of microbes 50 -100+ times per day with well over half during their 8 hour shift. Stripping hands of pathogens with soap simultaneously strips the […]
“Clean Hands. Save Lives.”
Unchanged behavior from Chicago to Sierra Leone. “Clean Hands. Save Lives.” is the mantra of the CDC fostered Clean Hands Coalition, who today are joining the World Health Organization and Handwashing For Life Healthcare to celebrate World Health Day. The day started with a very informative webinar, “Healing Hands” sponsored by the Global Public-Private Partnership […]
