2005 Symposium on Advanced Wound Care | |
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Informational/Educational Report
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Hand hygiene – meeting the JCAHO safety goal Carol Benton, BSN, RN, CWCN, Dawn Schoenherr, MSN, RN, CCRN, APRN, BC, Joan Phillips, MSN, RN, CCRN, APRN, BC, William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI While establishing 2004 department goals, the new JCAHO Safety Goal of improving compliance with CDC hand washing recommendations seemed an appropriate department initiative. Wound Care Center patients are colonized or infected with resistant bacteria and effective hand washing by health care workers reduces the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms. Although physicians in the department always wear gloves when caring for patients, the nursing staff observed that some physicians rarely washed their hands prior to gloving or after removing gloves. The purpose of the project was to improve physician compliance with standard precautions including hand washing. In summary, the Wound Care Center nursing staff has taken a more active role in reminding physicians to cleanse their hands. Overall physician compliance with hand cleansing increased from 17% to 84% within a one-month period. Continued oversight of physician compliance with hand hygiene may ultimately reduce the incidence of infection transmission. In addition to raising the physician awareness of hand hygiene, the nursing staff admits they have improved their own personal compliance with hand cleansing and have fewer breaks in clean technique. Finally, the project has helped to educate our patients on the importance of hand washing to prevent the spread of infection. References Boyce JM, Pittet D. Guideline for Hand Hygiene in Health-Care Settings. MMWR Recomm Rep. 2002;25(51):1–45. Gawande A. On washing hands. N Engl J Med. 2004;25(13):1283–1286. Semmelweis’s revenge: a new era of hand hygiene dawns in health care. Hosp Infec Control. 2003;30(9):113–124. Trampuz A, Widmer AF. Hand hygiene: a frequently missed lifesaving opportunity during patient care. Mayo Clin Proc. 2004;(79):109–116. |
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