According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) following proper hand hygiene guidelines (i.e. hand washing or use of alcohol-based hand rubs) has been shown to reduce overall infection rates in health care facilities.

The CDC released guidelines to improve adherence to hand hygiene in health care settings. In addition to traditional hand washing with soap and water, the CDC recommends the use of alcohol-based hand rubs by health care personnel for patient care as the products address some of the obstacles that health care professionals face when taking care of patients.

As part of these recommendations, the CDC is asking health care facilities to develop and implement a system for measuring improvements in adherence to these hand hygiene recommendations. The CDC has reported compliance with hand hygiene in hospitals across the country to vary from 5-81% with 40% being the average.

University Health Systems is committed to eliminating preventable infections by implementing measures that can help reduce the occurrences of infection or harmful contaminants. Eliminating infections saves lives and gives our patients the ability to go home and spend time with family and friends while doing the things they enjoy.

How the Results are Calculated
At University Health Systems, trained observers monitor staff to see how often they wash their hands or use alcohol-based hand rubs between patients and at other required times.

Choose a hospital on the left to see the results for that facility.

*Centers for Disease Control, http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/fs021025.htm