International Infection Prevention week

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Germs! Not on my Watch!

When someone develops an infection at a hospital or other patient care facility that they did not have prior to treatment, this is referred to as a healthcare-associated (sometimes hospital-acquired) infection (HAI).



Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are a global crisis affecting both patients and healthcare workers.


According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide suffer from infections acquired in hospitals.

How concerned are you?  I know having a child that has been hospitalized several times this is always a concern.  If you are like me you watch to make sure the nurses and doctors wash their hands, wear gloves, etc. 

Unfortunately even with the best of intentions, healthcare workers do not always wash and disinfect their hands as often as they should. This less than perfect hand hygiene performance can pose a serious risk to patients because as stated by Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), “Clean hands are the single most important factor in preventing the spread of dangerous germs and antibiotic resistance in healthcare settings.”1



While the use of gloves does not eliminate the need for hand hygiene, likewise, the use of hand hygiene does not eliminate the need for gloves. Gloves reduce hand contamination by 70 percent to 80 percent, prevent cross–contamination and protect patients and healthcare personnel from infection.



The importance of gloves, masks, and other personal protective apparel cannot be overestimated in preventing infection in healthcare settings. They, along with hand hygiene, are the first line of defense in preventing the spread of infection from person to person within healthcare settings.

It is good to know that companies like Kimberly-Clark are helping in infection control.

As part of an ongoing commitment to quality care and infection prevention, nationwide doctors and hospitals are partnering with Kimberly-Clark to deliver continuing education programs on healthcare-associated infection (HAI) prevention to staff and management. As simple as education sounds, busy doctors and nurses on the front lines of delivering care can find it difficult to find the time to take advantage of scheduled programs within their hospitals.



The HAI Education Program is part of a national infection awareness campaign for healthcare professionals called “Not on My Watch” and will provide the facility with a toolkit that contains informational flyers, patient safety tips and posters.


The "Not on My Watch" campaign provides accredited continuing education (CE) programs based on best practices and guidelines as well as research available on reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections.



For details about the "Not On My Watch" campaign, and the HAI Education Bus please visit www.HAIwatch.com.

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