May 7, 2013
TRILLIUM HEALTH PARTNERS PROMOTES PATIENT SAFETY
Staff reminds colleagues, patients and visitors to clean their hands
(Mississauga, ON) – Trillium Health Partners is emphasizing the importance of performing good hand hygiene in order to prevent health care associated infections by celebrating national "STOP! Clean Your Hands Day".
Members of the hospital's senior leadership team, along with staff and volunteers gathered at the main entrance of Trillium Health Partners – Credit Valley Hospital this morning to promote good hand hygiene. This is just one of the events taking place over the course of the week at all three Trillium Health Partners sites in celebration of national STOP! Clean Your Hands Day.
"Good hand hygiene is extremely important," said Dr. Krystyna Ostrowska, a member of the Infection Prevention and Control team at Trillium Health Partners. "In Canada, 1 in every 9 patients can acquire infection while in hospital. This infection can increase a patient's length of stay. As health care workers, we can help stop the spread of infection by practicing good hand hygiene."
Effective hand hygiene practices in hospitals play a key role in improving patient safety and in preventing the spread of infections. Frequent and proper hand hygiene can reduce how long patients stay in the hospital, and helps reduce the need for readmission. There are two ways to clean hands: using an alcohol based rub or washing hands for at least 15-20 seconds using soap and running water, which will help remove and kill harmful organisms. The third national, STOP! Clean Your Hands Day took place Monday, May 6th, 2013. The event coincided with a global initiative of the World Health Organization, "Save Lives: Clean Your Hands".
"The events this week in celebration of STOP! Clean Your Hands Day are a great opportunity for us to remind staff, volunteers, patients and visitors of the importance of good hand hygiene and what a difference it makes to staying healthy. The health and safety of our patients is our number one priority and maintaining good hand hygiene is an easy way to help ensure that we are providing them with the best quality care possible," said Dr. Ostrowska.
-30-
For more information:
Catherine Pringle
905-848-7580 ext. 3832
Catherine.Pringle@trilliumhealthpartners.ca
