Improve Hand Hygiene with Sanitizers & Handsoaps

In 2015, headlines across the country focused on outbreaks of norovirus on cruise lines and E. Coli at Chipotle. These stories, plus the annual flu season scares, highlight the importance of practicing good hand hygiene, but compliance rates still remain low.

So low in fact, that infection prevention consultant Darrel Hicks calls it “abysmal.”

That assessment is echoed by a recent study conducted by Michigan State University. Researchers found that just 5% of people wash their hands properly after using the restroom. While other studies maintain that the number is a bit higher, nearly all researchers agree that at least half of all people do not practice good hand hygiene following trips to the restroom.

This lack of hygiene can have serious potential consequences. Contaminated hands can easily transmit germs to surfaces, and those germs can survive for days or even weeks. This leads to illnesses that take kids out of schools and employees out of offices.

Each year, this country spends billions of dollars on people calling in sick. Good hand hygiene saves businesses money, and it improves overall health — each year, as many as 3 million people die from healthcare-associated infections that could often be prevented with better hand hygiene practices.

To curb these costly outcomes, there’s growing pressure on facility cleaning managers to do what they can to boost hand hygiene compliance rates among building occupants.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the single most important thing we can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others is to wash our hands,” says Brian Sansoni of the American Cleaning Institute (ACI). “All workplaces, schools, and office buildings should make it as simple as possible for everyone to clean their hands.”

We agree — which is why we offer a comprehensive array of hand sanitizers and hand soaps in St. Paul that are effective and affordable. Contact Twin City Janitor today to learn about our janitorial supplies and how they can reduce infections in your school, hospital or office!