On September 14, the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy reported that hand-washing rates in public restrooms are at an all-time high. Eighty-five percent of 6,028 men and women observed in restrooms at Turner Field in Atlanta, the Museum of Science and Industry and the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Grand Central and Penn Stations in New York City, and the Ferry Terminal Farmers Market in San Francisco washed their hands.

Although hand-washing rates have declined over the past decade, they are steadily improving – and for good reason.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hand-washing is the single best way to prevent and avoid the spread of illness. Each year, over 1 million infections, including those of the bloodstream, surgical wounds, urinary tract, and pneumonia, are acquired by hospital patients being treated for something else.  Therefore, it is equally, if not more important, for health care providers to wash their hands.

The Learning Resource Center offers a variety of hand hygiene products designed to reduce infections.  The CDC’s “Clean Hands Save Lives” poster, which lists their hand-washing guidelines and describes germs found on unclean hands, is a colorful display for your health care facility. In addition, the CDC’s “Hand Hygiene Saves Lives” buttons can be worn by health care professionals to serve as a hand-washing reminder to yourself and others, and to show your commitment to patient safety.

For more information from the CDC's "Hand Hygiene Saves Lives" campaign on the importance of hand hygiene, watch the video below: