Hospitals in pursuit of excellence

Hand Hygiene Habit

Abington Memorial Hospital has used everything from screen saver reminders to notes from the chief of staff in its hand hygiene campaign. The result? An improvement in compliance from 31 percent in late 2007 to 84 percent now for the 665-bed hospital in Abington, Pa. The campaign started with resident volunteers observing and collecting data if clinical staff were cleaning hands when entering and exiting a room. Each clinical unit posted signage outside patient rooms, and the administration paid an incentive bonus to all 5,600 employees when the first compliance goal was met. A hand hygiene committee creates new campaigns, which have included serious and humorous messages on screen savers and the hospital?s intranet. With the current campaign, staff ?caught clean handed? can enter a raffle for prizes. Staff caught not being compliant receive a letter from the chief of staff. For more information, contact Collette Hendler, RN, infection control nurse, at chendler@amh.org.