A targeted focus on basic infection prevention, particularly hand hygiene, is an excellent place to focus on patient/resident safety and boost infection prevention.

• Small but impactful changes can happen now.
• Megan DiGiorgio, MSN, RN, CIC, FAPIC, senior clinical manager at GOJO Industries—the makers of PURELL products, offers advice in a Provider guest column.

Hand hygiene is the most foundational practice, yet perhaps the most difficult to improve.

• The World Health Organization encourages making hand hygiene possible, easy, and convenient with readily available alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR). 

Action for facilities:

• Ensure adequate access to ABHR.
• Offer a high-quality product staff can have confidence in. This is important because many products available early in the pandemic were unpleasant.
• Encourage the use of hand hygiene before and after every resident interaction. Simple and consistent reinforcement by management and peers is key.

Dig deeper: Read the A Return to the Basics of Hand Hygiene for Long Term Care Facilities (providermagazine.com, October 18, 2022).