A healthcare facility's environmental services staff's hand hygiene is key to infection control, but often there is a lack of understanding and training. according to an article on the Infection Control website.
“Sometimes workers think that hand hygiene is to protect themselves,” said Fiona Nemetz, system director for environmental services at Northside Hospital in Atlanta. “They’re not always aware that good hand hygiene is ultimately to protect the patients.
"When you think about the domino effect it can have on infection transmission and patient outcomes, it’s significant when proper hand hygiene protocol is not in place.”
The environmental services staff are often left out of infection control training, the article said. Contact precautions are a missing link in preventing healthcare-associated infections, and hand hygiene is the first line of defense.
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