Long-term care homes educating residents on hand hygiene
Engaging residents an important move towards mitigating the risk of outbreaks
Wednesday December 10, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
Some Ontario long-term care homes are taking the initiative to educate residents about the importance of proper hand washing, in an effort to reduce the risk of bacterial infections.

While staff members and visitors have long been taught the important role good hand hygiene plays in long-term care settings, educating residents about proper hand-washing procedures is a fairly new approach to creating a safer environment in care homes, say healthcare professionals.

On Dec. 4, Springdale Country Manor, a Peterborough long-term care home, invited Simon Lee, a health inspector from the Peterborough County-City Health Unit, to lead an in-service on proper hand-washing techniques directed at the 14 residents who attended.

Using a slide-show presentation, Lee showed residents how bacteria can be spread by touching everyday objects. He then showed residents proper hand-washing steps: wet hands thoroughly, apply liquid soap, lather for 10-15 seconds, rinse, towel dry, turn off tap with towel.

“We would definitely like to see more (long-term care homes) do this,” says Lee, adding this is the first time he has taught residents about hand hygiene.

“We cannot stress the importance of washing hands enough. The more people we talk to the more we can get our message across. The whole idea is prevention.”

Jane Van Toen, an infection-control practitioner at Toronto’s Baycrest, a Healthcare Insurance Reciprocal of Canada (HIROC) subscriber, applauds homes for taking this approach.

“We’re always open to new ideas,” she says. “This approach is an example of how people are using different ideas” to educate people about hand hygiene.

Like Springdale Country Manor, Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, has taken the initiative to teach residents about hand hygiene as a proactive approach to safety.

Teaching residents about the importance of hand hygiene is important on two fronts — to raise awareness for residents and to be used as consumer education, notes Van Toen.

This past summer, Baycrest ran the Helping Hands campaign, an initiative to foster hand hygiene. Volunteers came to the long-term care home to distribute information leaflets detailing the importance of hand washing and providing samples of hand sanitizers.

Any long-term care home interested in educating residents about hand hygiene can call their local health unit to schedule a free in-service.

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