4 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7
1. Product placement. How
far does your staff need to walk
to find a hand sanitizer dis-
penser? The Grand Rapids
(Mich.) Ophthalmology Surgical
Care Center increased the num-
ber of locations where staff can
clean their hands. They have
hand sanitizer all around the
facility, including the nurse's
station, staff lounge, patient
waiting area and each bed station. "It's about location and avail-
ability," says Kris Kilgore, RN, BSN, the administrative director.
"You want it in their face."
2. Involve the staff. The type of hand sanitizing solution matters
as much as the location. "There's nothing worse than having a
product and nobody uses it because it's so harsh on their hands,"
says Ms. Kilgore. "You need to involve your staff. As a manager,
you can't be the only one determining what everyone will use."
3. Have a code word. You don't want to embarrass your nurses
for forgetting once or twice, but it's critical to maintain proper
hand hygiene at your facility. To achieve both goals, create a code
word for when one staff member notices another not complying.
"We got the idea from 'Meet the Fockers,'" says Michael Pankey,
RN, MBA, the former administrator of the Ambulatory Surgery
Center of Spartanburg (S.C). (In the Ben Stiller comedy, the code
word "muskrat" tips Robert De Niro's character that he needs to
lighten up.) "We didn't like muskrat, so we went with 'squirrel.' It's
• MAKE IT EASY Increase the number of locations where
staff can clean their hands. Staff shouldn't have to walk
more than a couple steps to find a dispenser.
HAND WASHING
7 Creative Ways to Improve Hand Hygiene Compliance
