Motivation matters.
Data is the difference.
Handwashing compliance has eluded healthcare for decades. This has resulted in a multitude of infections, extended hospital stays, and profit-damaging HCAHPS scores. This was the scene even before COVID-19. Norovirus was and likely still is the leading ongoing pathogen in Nursing Homes. Hospital units continue to be closed by Norovirus outbreaks. Handwashing is the #1 intervention in both cases.
Handwash training has been ineffective in securing safe levels of compliance. This is easily understood as there are neither operational standards for frequency nor ways to measure it. The Handwashing For Life Institute considers it a process out of control. Cynics point out that healthcare handwashing is not even close to being a process but rather a “random act performed as time permits.”
COVID-19 has accentuated the need for verifiable caregiver handwashing. Savvy pioneering providers are rapidly replacing “ secret shopper” monitoring protocols with electronic alternatives. Unbiased data from a dramatically enhanced number of observations allow risk-based standards to be established, monitored, and reported – providing an objective basis for staff motivation.
Handwashing For Life® has documented its 21 years of research in the form of a
White Paper, entitled “The CareReady® Handwashing Fix”, Motivation matters. Data is the difference. It is available as a thank-you for signing up for the periodic complimentary newsletter, “Take 5” below.
This graphic answers that question. It simply illustrates that increased electronic monitoring of handwashing not only raises compliance but more importantly reduces the infection rate. Note the dotted vertical line that marks the implementation date of the electronic surveillance system. Now follow the green line that tracks the reduction of infections as the handwashing frequency increases, marked by the blue line. This graphic healthcare message undeniably translates into restaurant relevancy: risk reduction and brand protection.
HandwashingForLife® HandsOn™ Process is a practical set of proven measures to change healthcare handwashing behaviors, protecting the business and the people they serve.
White Paper Table of Contents:
