The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) annual June meeting in Denver, Colorado brought together top companies; Gojo, Chlorox, Bode, Steris, Echo Labs and Sprixx emphasizing the need for hand hygiene compliance to reduce HAIs. 

Sprixx joined forces with experts Dr. Betsy McCaughey founder of R.I.D. and Dr. Elaine Larson, University of Columbia School of Nursing and Noel Eldridge Executive Officer for the National Center for Patient Safety (NCPS) within the Veterans Health Administration, working together to fight the spread of infections in America’s hospitals.

Full report coming…

The most significant act healthcare can take to improve USA Healthcare outcomes is stopping hand transmission of pathogens from one person to another (patients).

AHRQ states Hospital Infection Control MUST PRIORITIZE the CDC Guidelines for Hand Sanitation

using that which is THE MOST Beneficial

The Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal #7 for 2009 focuses on infection control requiring implementation for field review.  The goals affect hospitals, critical access hospitals and long-term care with focus on MRSA, catheter-associated bloodstream infections, and surgical site infections in acute care hospitals.

  PRIORITIZED CDC RECOMMENDATIONS:

·                Alcohol dispensers must be worn on the body

8D – To improve hand-hygiene adherence among personnel who work in areas in which high workloads and high intensity of patient care are anticipated, make an alcohol-based hand rub available at the entrance to the patient’s room or at the bedside, in other convenient locations, and an individual pocket-sized containers to be carried by HCWs

   SOLUTION:  

   Provide the healthcare worker (HCW) with ergonomic dispensers that require/allow:                              

a.  Zero time loss-no need to take steps (foot or hand) to go to wall mount or tabletop dispensers or open a dispenser, no loss of task focus.

b.  Zero dollar cost for unnecessary time to go to wall mount or tabletop dispensers or to open a dispenser and then return to task.                         

c. The dispenser is at the “point-of-care” 100% of the time.      

d.  Eliminates typical foibles interfering with appropriate hand hygiene compliance/illuminates issues that sabotage compliance.

e.  Dispenser will not act as a vector = anti-microbial surface agent

f.   Cut and sustain hospital infection rates better than 50%.

g.  Risk-Management mantra is “prevention.”

h.  Increased ROI due to reduced infection rates.

·      Healthcare worker hand hygiene compliance must be monitored

7B - Monitor HCWs’ adherence with recommended hand-hygiene practices and provides personnel with information regarding their performance.

   SOLUTION:  

   Utilize ergonomic dispensers with individual electronic, time stamped, hand hygiene compliance data reports.       

a.  Hand hygiene compliance is measured and reported in average hourly episodes (AHE) per individual and per   department.  The apathetic HCW cannot escape the scrutiny of electronic observation via Sprixx Hand Hygiene System (SHHS) “second eyes.”

·                Administrative Measure

        8A – Make improved hand-hygiene adherence an institutional priority and provide appropriate administrative support and financial resources.

    SOLUTION:  Hospital “suite C” provides resources to implement SHHS to achieve exceptional cultural change in matters of hand hygiene compliance. With the exploding scrutiny by CMS, multiple insurance companies, the JC, Public demand for infection rate disclosure, innovative pro-active measures must be invited/evaluated/implemented.

  Sprixx Hand Hygiene System is that measure!  Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention! We have married “ergonomic” dispensers to hand hygiene compliance “data” collection.  With appropriate feed-back of said data to the individual HCW, synergy is obviated by new benchmarks, elevating the consciousness of the HCW and sustaining compliance leading to APIC’s 2012 Vision of 100% hand hygiene compliance.

THE Time has come for a PARADIGM shift… the consciousness of healthcare workers must be raised and hand sanitation must become SECOND NATURE – SPRIXX is a bodyworn, ergonomic and electronically monitored life-saving device…

      100,000 people will die in the U.S. alone this year…

Hand transmitted infections are a deadly threat and hospital acquired infections are some of the most dangerous. 

             SPRIXX TODAY