Be the world’s leading away from home skin care system companyDeb Canada, 42 Thompson Road West, Waterford, Ontario, Canada N0E 1Y0 Tel: 1-888-332-7627 Fax: 1-800-567-1652

‘Behaviour Change’ Reduces Healthcare Associated Infections Did you know that 1 in 6 patients in Canada acquire infection as a consequence of their hospi-tal stay? In fact, it has been estimated that 220,000 incidents of Healthcare Associated Infec-tions (HAI) occur each year, resulting in more than 8,000 deaths.

Markham Stou�ville is a 256 bed multi-site com-munity hospital in a growing Toronto area com-munity. With 275 physicians and 1,700 sta� the hospital draws residents from several communi-ties and serves nearly 300,000 people. “We started on the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s ‘Just Clean Your Hands’ program in 2007. After a multi-site product evaluation process, Deb’s Microsan Encore Foaming Alcohol Handrub was chosen,” comments Susanne Parker, Infection Control Practitioner, Markham Stou�ville Hospi-tal.

The Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Com-mittee (PIDAC) advises, “Using alcohol-based hand rub is better than washing hands (even with antibacterial soap) when hands are not visibly soiled. It is preferable that a minimum concentra-tion of 70% alcohol be chosen.” Deb’s Microsan® Encore Foaming Alcohol Handrub contains 72% Ethyl Alcohol.

Infection Prevention ProgramsAccording to CHICA-Canada, “Infection preven-tion and control programs have been widely recognized to be both clinically and cost e�ective in preventing and controlling the spread of infec-tions in healthcare settings. Ultimately the most e�ective way to prevent the transmission of infec-tion is through hand hygiene.”

Just the Facts:WHO:

DAILY CHALLENGE:

A UNIQUE RESPONSE:

Markham Stou�ville Hospital

Implement an Infection Control Program and reduce HAI

Just Clean Your Hands Program and Products from Deb Canada

Be the world’s leading away from home skin care system companyDeb Canada, 42 Thompson Road West, Waterford, Ontario, Canada N0E 1Y0 Tel: 1-888-332-7627 Fax: 1-800-567-1652

‘Behaviour Change’ Reduces Healthcare Associated Infections Page 2 Point-of-Care (POC) is the

place where the patient and healthcare provider come together in the care and treatment process. POC hand hygiene prod-ucts need to be easily accessible by the health-care provider in the patients’ environment – so they can be used at the required moment. “Place-ment of alcohol dispensers needs to be as close to the

Education & ComplianceOne of the main challenges in implementing a hand hygiene program is in�uencing change. “An important and integral part of an e�ective hand hygiene program is education of all sta� about the importance of hand hygiene in a health care setting. It must be kept in mind, however, that education programs alone are inadequate and other modifying strate-gies must be included in a multifaceted approach to achieve change,” as referenced by PIDAC.

“Our CEO was a huge advocate for hand hygiene which had a signi�cant impact. Additionally, we had travelling educa-tion on the four-moments either in groups or one-on-one. Our education was also tailored to both physicians and nurses. We are now embarking on our second wave of education, starting with hand hygiene champion posters and nominations for other champions in various wards etc. Healthcare professionals are busy people so even if you get to spend 10-minutes with someone and they get it – the positive impact can be signi�cant,” comments Parker.

“We use the Ministry’s ‘Just Clean Your Hands’ observational audit tool. As part of our audits we use nurses with lots of experience – people that are well respected. We consider the Hawthorne e�ect and the idea that people will improve compliance because they’re being monitored. We look at it as an opportunity to improve through observation and coaching. We’ve learned some invaluable lessons along the way,” continues Parker.

“The Deb sta� was always willing to accommodate the hospital and the Infection Prevention and Control sta�. We accompanied Deb during the installation – positioning the dispensers according to feedback from sta�. Deb’s knowl-edge and ‘lessons learned’ from other facilities made a real di�erence. It was very much a partnership,” concludes Parker.

Learn More:

www.debgroup.com

Deb Healthcare Skin Safety Regimen & P.O.C eLearning

point-of-care as possible. In the PACU (Post Anesthetic Care Unit) as an example, with lots of equipment at the head of the bed - it’s just not that easy. Our facilities department was very creative and we installed Deb’s Microsan at each bed station where direct care was provided,” adds Parker.

A hand hygiene indication is the reason why hand hygiene is necessary at any given moment. There may be several hand hygiene indications in a single care sequence or activity, but for training purposes these can be simpli�ed into four moments, Known in Ontario as the 4 Moments of Hand Hygiene in Healthcare, these essential hand hygiene indicators include:

1. BEFORE initial patient or patient environment contact2. BEFORE aseptic procedure3. AFTER body �uid exposure risk4. AFTER patient or patient environment contact