The Jewish General Hospital: A picture of health

Clean hands save lives!
Hand hygiene efforts shift into high gear
Hands that are supposed
to help heal
can actually make patients
sicker. If not properly
cleaned, the hands
of doctors, nurses and
other hospital staff can
easily spread germs,
trigger infection and
cause serious illness. For
this reason, the JGH has
launched a high-profile,
high-intensity hand hygiene
program, with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony
for JGH leaders and
staff on March 19 in the
hospital’s Intensive Care
Unit. (For more, please
see the accompanying
article.)
The JGH has always
been conscientious
about hand cleanliness,
but the time has come to fight infection
more aggressively, says JGH Executive
Director Dr. Hartley Stern.
“It’s our responsibility to conduct
ourselves in such a way as to safeguard
patients when they’re at their
most vulnerable,” Dr. Stern says. “The
way to accomplish this is by creating
a culture among staff in which constant
attention to quality, safety and
cleanliness becomes second nature.
Everything snowballs from there. A
hospital with a reputation for quality
earns the trust and respect of patients
and the public.”
Proper hand hygiene is
essential because:
• Each year, 1 in 9 patients admitted
to a Canadian hospital acquires an
infection as a result of his or her
hospital stay.
• Of those infected hospitalized patients,
8,000 die.
• Handwashing may seem old-fashioned
and low-tech, but it remains
one of the fastest, cheapest and
most effective ways of stopping infection
in its tracks.
In fall 2008, the JGH was Montreal’s
first teaching hospital to join the national
Stop! Clean Your Hands hand
hygiene campaign of the Canadian
14 PULSE • SUMMER 2009
Patient Safety Institute (CPSI). The
JGH initiative was led by the Department
of Nursing in partnership with
the Infection Prevention and Control
team. In joining this campaign, 38
JGH departments signed a letter of
engagement, committing themselves
to setting aside time and providing
support for staff to learn about proper
hand hygiene.
A hand hygiene committee has also
developed ongoing, multi-disciplinary
activities to promote best practices
among hospital staff on a pilot-project
basis in four units: Medical Oncology,
Surgery, Post-Partum and Intensive
Care. One person in each unit serves
as a model for colleagues, while providing
information, feedback and
support.
The CPSI’s Hand Hygiene Campaign
Learning Module is one of
many tools that will be used to teach
staff and test them on their knowledge
of hand hygiene essentials. The interactive
module also offers instruction
on hand and skin care, and the “when
and how” of clean hands. Particular
attention is paid to the “4 Moments of
Hand Hygiene”, proper hand-washing
technique with soap and water, and
correct hand hygiene with alcoholbased
products. Staff who successfully
This past spring, members of the JGH Physiotherapy Department heard from a representative
of Deb Canada (specializing in occupational skin hygiene). The JGH Hand Hygiene Committee
and Deb also organized a booth in the hospital, and instructed staff on hand hygiene practices
in pilot units on 8 Northwest, 5 West, the Intensive Care Unit and 4 Northwest, as well as
Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Pharmacy, Central Supply Department, Respiratory
Therapy and Social Services.
Clean hands are grand
Passionate kisses—right there in
the workplace! Whatever happened
to the customary handshake?
It turns out the kisses weren’t real,
but part of a brief video clip that drew
chuckles at the launch of the JGH
Hand Hygiene Program at Medical
Grand Rounds on March 9. Even
so, the underlying message was no
laughing matter. Angie Spiropoulos,
Assistant Chief Respiratory Specialist
in the Department of Respiratory
Therapy, included the clip in a
presentation as a dramatic reminder
that “shaking hands spreads more
germs than kissing.” For this reason,
staff must have clean hands when the
patient and healthcare professional
make contact.
Melanie Sherridan, Clinical Nurse
Specialist in the Emergency Department
discussed hand hygiene tech-
complete the module will receive a pin
inscribed with “Clean your hands” or
“Ask me if I cleaned my hands”.
“Creating a safe environment is at the
heart of the Jewish General Hospital
and is intrinsic to our corporate culture,”
says Director of Nursing Lynne
niques using alcohol-based foam (20
to 30 seconds) and soap and water
(40 to 60 seconds). She also noted
that the risk of contamination rises
among individuals who wear jewelry
on their hands and have artificial or
long, natural nails or chipped nail
polish.
When infection spreads in hospitals,
it causes serious illness, more
prolonged hospital stays, increased
waiting times, long-term disability,
increased mortality rates and
increased costs in providing healthcare.
Yet, says Dr. Denny Laporta,
Chief of Adult Critical Care, the
“single most effective measure to reduce
healthcare-associated infection
is the simple act of cleaning hands.
This cuts right through the complexity
of a patient’s disease and the complexity
of the hospital system.” u
McVey. Dr. Denny Laporta, Chief
of Adult Critical Care, adds that by
building awareness, providing education
and encouraging cooperation
among staff, the new program ensures
that “patients know they are not only
in good hands, but in safe hands.” u