ED Accreditation Update
Hand washing is key to stop infection spread
With The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals focusing on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), ED managers say the key to compliance remains one of the most basic — but difficult to implement — strategies of all: hand washing.
"Good hand washing and overall good hygiene around the patient must become more a part of everyday practice, but these sorts of simple things are not easy to do in a complex and fast-moving environment," says Christopher Beach, MD, vice chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Evanston, IL.
Proper ergonomics can help improve compliance, he says. "You should have sinks, soap, and towels available and close by in all patient care areas," Beach says. "Also, your people must be made aware of how important it is to have good hand washing practices." His hospital has been holding regular inservices for at least two years, he says.
In addition to good hand washing, says Beach, the ED staff should be taught some common-sense hygiene techniques. "For example, try not to wear the same set of scrubs every day for a week," he says. "When a patient has left a room, wash it down and put in clean linens." These simple techniques, he says, "can have a big impact."
David John, MD, FACEP, director of the ED at Caritas Carney Hospital in Boston, says a more proactive approach is needed. "We put [alcohol gel] dispensers outside each room and outside the ED, and it jogs my memory every once in a while, but until somebody actually watches you to see if you are washing your hands, nobody will change behavior," he insists.
He notes that at a Veterans Affairs facility, one individual designated as the hand washing monitor went to each department and observed staff hand washing behaviors. "They drove the drug-resistant organism infection rate down to zero," says John.
With The Joint Commission's 2009 National Patient Safety Goals focusing on hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), ED managers say the key to compliance remains one of the most basic but difficult to implement strategies of all: hand washing.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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