Do you know the germs that live on your hands? Streptococcus, streptococci and bacteroides are some common ones. The names may not sound familiar, but the illnesses they spread sure are: pneumonia, sore throats, ear infections. In fact, hands carry dozens of germs that also cause common colds, flu, stomach viruses and various life-threatening illnesses.

The most effective and proven way to prevent these infections is simply handwashing. But a quick five second rinse under water won’t do. Proper handwashing is important, particularly in a healthcare setting, and must follow specific steps: wet hands, soap well, rub for 15 – 20 seconds, rinse, dry, turn off faucet with towel.

HHC facilities have long emphasized the importance of excellent hand hygiene. It's just one part of HHC's ongoing patient safety priority initiative which aims to establish New York's public hospitals as one of the top ten safest hospital systems in the nation by the end of the decade.

Some Important Links
Did You Know?

"Studies: Hospitals Could Do More to Avoid Infections"
The Washington Post

Hand Hygiene Guidelines Factsheet
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Teacher's Corner – Handwashing Experiment
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Help children learn about the importance of hand hygiene
Henry the Hand Foundation

Did you know?

• “Each year, about 2 million American patients develop infections while hospitalized. An estimated 90,000 of them die as a result.” (CDC)

• In 1847, Ignaz Semmelweis was the first clinician to reduce mortality by introducing a handwashing policy (Semmelweis, 1847)

• “The average desk harbors over 10 million germs.” (C.P. Gerba):
  - Phone: 25,127 germs per square inch
  - Keyboard: 3,295 germs per square inch
  - Mouse: 1,676 germs per square inch
  - Desktop: 20,961 germs per square inch (Purell)
  

• “One of the most common ways people catch cold is by rubbing their noses or eyes after touching someone or something that’s contaminated with the cold virus (rhinovirus).” (Healthy Schools, Healthy People)
  

• “Rotavirus – a germ that causes gastrointestinal illness – can be transferred from a dry, smooth surface to a clean hand for as long as 20 minutes after the surface has been contaminated.” (Ansari, Sattar, Springthorpe, Wells, and Tostowaryk)
  

• “Bacteria can be transmitted even if the patient is not infected.” (CDC)

• “Healthcare workers who wear artificial nails may contribute to transmission of certain healthcare-associated pathogens…more likely to harbor gram-negative pathogens on their fingertips than those who have natural nails, both before and after handwashing.” (CDC)