Clean hands count

All hands on deck: CDC launches hand hygiene initiative

The effort urges all health care professionals, patients and their families to prevent the spread of infection by keeping their hands clean.

Studies show that health care professionals clean their hands less than half of the times they should, a practice that could contribute to the spread of infections that affect 1 in 25 hospital patients each day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

To combat this issue and raise greater awareness about the importance of washing hands and using hand sanitizer correctly, the CDC is launching a new initiative called Clean Hands Count.

Kicking off today—which happens to be World Hand Hygiene Day—the effort aims to achieve the following:

  • To improve adherence to the CDC’s hand hygiene recommendations among health care professionals.
  • To address the myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene practice.
  • To empower patients and their families to speak up and remind health care professionals to clean their hands before they begin examinations.

“Patients depend on their medical team to help them get well, and the first step is making sure health care professionals aren’t exposing them to new infections,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, in a press release. “Clean hands really do count and in some cases can be a matter of life and death.”

The CDC is providing materials including posters, brochures and fact sheets that can be downloaded from its website or ordered online starting Monday, May 9. All materials are free of charge.

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