Clean Hands Care is UHN's new hand hygiene campaign initiated in 2019. The goal of Clean Hands Care is to educate and remind staff of the importance of hand hygiene in keeping patients and staff safe.
Hand Hygiene
Hand hygiene refers to removing or killing microorganisms (germs) on the hands that may have been picked up during contact with patients or the environment. Visitors and patients may also unknowingly bring micro-organisms into the hospital setting. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the preferred method for hand hygiene at UHN, but soap and water should be used whenever hands are visibly soiled. Hand hygiene is the single most effective way to prevent the spread of health care-associated infections such as MRSA or C. difficile.
How are we working towards the Clean Hands Care goal?
- Continuously educating and engaging staff, patient and visitors to practice diligent hand hygiene.
- Making hand hygiene a continuous topic of discussion at unit safety huddles.
- Designing and implementing the use of auditing tools to accurately measure compliance rates.
Be a part of Clean Hands Care
Proper hand hygiene includes cleaning hands with hand sanitizer or soap and water when:
- Entering and exiting the hospital
- Entering and exiting a patient room
- After using the washroom
- Before eating
- Whenever hands are visible soiled
- Frequently throughout the day (for example, after touching elevator buttons or sneezing)
Please remember to:
- Employ good hand-washing techniques:
- Get all surfaces: finger tips, between fingers, palms and back of hands
- Use warm water to open up pores on hands, not hot water, which can actually close up pores and trap dirt in the skin
- Turn off the faucet using paper towel (if not electronic or foot/elbow operated)
- Sneezing into your sleeve, not your hand!
