“We keep our team members well versed in proper hand hygiene at Memorial Hospital,” remarks Dr. Victor Trianfo, Vice President of Medical Affairs and Quality. “We understand how this benefits our patients, their guests, and each other. Our compliance rates are consistently well above state and national rates, averaging at 97 percent versus other rates which linger in the mid-50’s.”
Involving staff, patients, and guests, team members at Memorial Hospital will gather at 12:05pm and 3:30pm to “scrub up” and emphasize the important role of proper hand hygiene. Throughout the state, an estimated 50,000 hospital staff and visitors participated or witnessed this shared commitment.
“It’s been reported that up to 80 percent of disease is transmitted through hand-to-hand contact,” says Jane Johnson, Supervisor of Infection Control at Memorial Hospital. “Hand hygiene is one of the best ways to keep our patients, guests, and staff members healthy. Taking time to start these conversations is important, especially during flu season.”
Scrub Up! originated from the OHA’s Quality Institute with central Ohio hospitals to diminish the occurrence of health care-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) through involvements including strict adherence to hand-hygiene procedures. That focus in 2009-2010 helped MRSA bloodstream infections decrease by 42 percent.
