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- Help With Hand Washing
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Given the importance of hand washing compliance, especially in healthcare, manufacturers are searching for solutions to help facility cleaning managers. New offerings include fixtures and dispensers that monitor users.听For example, a sink may have a blinking light that turns off after the appropriate length of wash time, or an alarm may go off if a nurse enters a patient鈥檚 room and doesn鈥檛 wash or sanitize their hands. Many of these systems can read a chip in the employee鈥檚 badge, which offers managers data on who is or isn鈥檛 complying with hand hygiene standards. Some facilities are using this data to reward and punish employees, even going so far as to terminate those who violate hygiene protocols.In the end, Couch says boosting hand washing compliance rates is a matter of trial and error. It can take time to find the mix of education, products, and strategies that work best for a particular facility. Even then, expect to be disappointed, she warns.鈥淲e haven鈥檛 found the one thing that鈥檚 the greatest thing since sliced bread to solve this problem,鈥� Couch says. 鈥淵ou need awareness first and foremost, as well as ease and accessibility, but there are so many human variables worked into it that it can be difficult to master.鈥澨�BECKY MOLLENKAMP is a freelance writer based in St. Louis, Missouri.
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