One thing I learned early on in my healthcare career is that medicine is a lot art and some science. However, one thing I do know is much of the action around patient safety isn’t rocket science; it is common sense. Hand washing is perhaps the simplest and most effective way to prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), but also the hardest to implement. 

 

HAIs remain one of the leading causes of death in the United States. In hospitals, they are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. If everyone practiced good hand hygiene, we could make a significant impact on HAIs.

 

May 5^th marks the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual call to action for its Save Lives: Clean Your Handscampaign. As of today, over 13,000 facilities worldwide have registered to participate in this effort. The WHO hand hygiene self-assessment framework tool enables hospitals to obtain a situation analysis, track their progress in promoting hand hygiene, identify problem areas, and develop a plan for improvement and sustainability. The framework, along with additional tools and resources, are available at the campaign website: Save Lives: Clean Your Hands . I urge you to look them over and institute these simple actions into your HAI prevention strategies.

 

In the interest of our patients’ safety, we need to raise proper hand hygiene from being a “project topic of the month” to an essential and integral part of the safety culture of patient care.