Happy World Hand Hygiene Day! Healthcare providers everywhere work daily to prevent the spread of diseases in healthcare facilities all over the world. In light of this, we want to share our gratitude by promoting healthy hand hygiene practices. 

This year, WHO (World Health Organization) is focusing on sharing the importance of hand hygiene; we want to share best practices for healthy hand hygiene and why it’s important when at point of care for patients and healthcare workers.

Point of Care

Point of Care refers to the moments when healthcare workers are in contact with patients and are at the highest risk of spreading infections. In a hospital, there are many locations where workers are at the highest risk of spreading diseases from touching. 

5 Most Contaminated High Touch Surfaces in Hospitals (Infection Control Today):

1. Bed rails
2. Bed surfaces
3. Supply carts
4. Over-bed tales
5. Intravenous pumps

These high touch surfaces overlap with the 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene that most healthcare workers are familiar with. The 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene approach defines the key moments when healthcare workers should perform hand hygiene. This evidence-based, field-tested, user-centered approach is designed to be easy to learn, logical, and applicable in a wide range of settings.

5 Moments for Hand Hygiene (World Health Organization): 

1. Before patient contact 
2. Before aseptic task 
3. After body fluid exposure 
4. After patient contact 
5. After contact with patient surroundings

“If you don’t make it [hand hygiene products] convenient right there at that second, no one is going to go around the corner and wash their hands. It must be available in the flow of what the employee is doing."William Parks, MD,

To combat Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI’s) at the source, Symmetry®  provides Point of Care Tools like 50 ml Tray Table Clips, 50 ml Suction Cups, and 550 ml Suction Cups. These tools make hand hygiene accessible to healthcare workers during the 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene, reducing the spread of disease and encouraging healthy hand hygiene practices. 

Lowering HAI’s

With the high-risk spread of HAIs and point of care being our focus, Symmetry provides helpful educational and awareness tools to support hand hygiene practices for all, not just in hospital areas but in most indoor settings. Symmetry’s goal is to lower HAI’s, with systems such as SBMS (Symmetry Behavior Modification System). SBMS is a set of unique, cost-effective tools based on six key tenets designed to INSPIRE hand hygiene compliance.

SBMS Six Key Tenets are:

1. Benevolence
2. Variation
3. Responsibility
4. Emotion
5. Accountability
6. Direction

With SBMS, Symmetry offers tools that provide Education and Awareness such as Digital Behavioral Driver Placards that use motion and sound to trigger a response to take action. Allowing for quick and easy customization of campaigns and initiatives, and offering image and video variation that keeps messaging fresh to avoid sign fatigue. SBMS also offers Symmetry Visual Lighting Cue (VLC) which uses light projections to trigger a response to take action. These light projections utilize various emojis from thumbs up, and smiley face, to heart.

Healthy hand hygiene is a daily practice and commitment for healthcare facilities. We thank our Healthcare providers for their amazing work to keep us all safe.

Contact your local representative to see how Symmetry’s point of care tools can help improve compliance in your facility.

Last November, the Leapfrog Group released an independent study on 2023 Hospital Safety Grades. Their study found that since the pandemic, infection rates in hospitals have dramatically improved. However, there is still work to be done in many states, and that work begins by improving basic cleaning and disinfecting procedures for patient rooms and communal areas.

The Buckeye Prescription Training Program can standardize cleaning and disinfecting in your hospital to keep patient, staff, and visitors healthy.

Patient Room Cleaning with Prescription

Prescription breaks down cleaning into manageable steps for EVS staff, covering all areas of the hospital including hallways, restrooms, and lobby areas. However, the most important room is the patient room. It must be cleaned properly to prevent cross infection during and between hospital stays.

Patient Rooms fall into 1 of 5 categories:

Occupied – the patient is in the room.

Discharge – the patient has just been discharged.

Unoccupied – the room remains vacant after discharge cleaning.

Isolation – the room is occupied by a patient requiring isolation precautions. 

Discharge Isolation – isolation patient has just been discharged.

Patient Room Cleaning Procedures 

The Prescription website and manual cover each of these scenarios in detail, following 6 basic cleaning procedures.

1. Empty Trash
2. High Dust
3. Damp Wipe
4. Clean Restrooms
5. Dust Mop or Sweep
6. Damp Mop

To help guide EVS staff, Prescription offers customizable wall charts and tools. Download our sample wall chart to help remind your staff about proper procedures in patient rooms.

The Complete Prescription Program 

Routine cleaning is only part of keeping a hospital clean. The Prescription program provides training in routine cleaning, patient room cleaning, surgery room cleaning, restroom, carpet care, hard floor care, and product safety.

Each video breaks down the procedures and equipment needed for each custodial task. The Prescription website serves as an online EVS training manual with resources including wall charts, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), product literature, and more. Your EVS staff will have 24/7 access to all of the tools they need to keep your hospital clean.

Contact a Buckeye representative to learn about all Prescription features and resources.