VIPTA is a statewide infection prevention and control education collaborative, led by the Virginia Healthcare-Associated Infections Advisory Group. Through partnership, VIPTA curates IPC resources for Virginia’s healthcare, congregate care, and public health settings.
May 5th is World Hand Hygiene Day
Mark your calendars because May 5th is no ordinary day—it’s World Hand Hygiene Day! It’s time to roll up our sleeves and celebrate the power of clean hands in keeping us all healthy. We know it’s not always easy to find the right tools to keep those hands squeaky clean. Fear not, because we’ve got your back with an exciting bundle of resources that’ll make hand hygiene a breeze!
🛠️ Toolkit: APIC Toolkit for Patient Hand Hygiene
- About this resource: This toolkit is an all-encompassing resource designed to empower healthcare professionals like you to champion hand hygiene practices among patients and residents.
- Target Audience: Foundational IPC education
📽️ Video: Virginia Infection Prevention Training Center – Hand Hygiene with Florence Nightingale
- About this resource: Get ready to be entertained and educated when Florence Nightingale comes to life to tell a memorable and short story on how to perform hand hygiene and why it matters in healthcare.
- Target Audience: Foundational IPC education level
💻 Technology: Speedy Audit
- About this resource: Speedy Audit is a free resource to track and compile your hand hygiene audits. A 2023 study showed that using Speedy Audit reduced the amount of time to complete hand hygiene analysis when compared to a paper audit tool (Libero, G., Bordino, V., Garlasco, J., Vicentini, C., & Maria Zotti, C. (2023)).
- Target Audience: Foundational to Intermediate IPC education level
So, gear up, spread the word, and let’s make this World Hand Hygiene Day the cleanest one yet!
Our Heart is for Patient Safety
This Valentine’s Day, LewisGale Hospital Pulaski’s theme was Our Heart is for Patient Safety. On 2/14, the entire facility celebrated 10 years without a central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI)! This success was the result of an enormous amount of teamwork. It involved physicians ordering and placing lines appropriately, nurses caring for the lines properly, and many ancillary departments doing their part.
The team thanked Environmental Services for keeping the hospital clean, Supply Chain staff for ensuring necessary products are in stock and Interventional Radiology for carefully and consistently placing peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) lines. A robust interdisciplinary team discusses every device including the plan for removal. A major contributor to this success is a culture where all staff feel empowered to speak up when there is a patient concern.
Leading up to the celebration of CLABSI prevention, the Infection Preventionists most enjoyed time spent gathering photographs of staff and talking about their contributions to this special event. This momentous occasion was celebrated with banners, balloons, t-shirts and cake for all!
-Becky McDonald, Infection Preventionist, LewisGale Hospital Pulaski
