AHS to celebrate STOP! Clean Your Hands Day 2019

National campaign raises awareness of the importance of hand hygiene

CALGARY – Alberta Health Services (AHS) celebrates the annual STOP! Clean Your Hands Day on May 6.

This national campaign encourages AHS staff, physicians, volunteers, patients and their families, and members of the public to clean their hands to prevent the spread of infection. Hand hygiene is an AHS organizational priority and a critical safety moment. During STOP! Clean Your Hands Day — and throughout the year — AHS encourages its staff, physicians and volunteers to think about the ‘4 Moments for Hand Hygiene’ and how they apply to what they do:

1. BEFORE contact with the patient or patient environment.
2. BEFORE a clean/aseptic procedure.
3. AFTER contact with blood or body fluids.
4. AFTER contact with the patient or patient environment.

This year, the AHS Infection Prevention and Control Hand Hygiene Program is hosting a provincial event called Clean Hands Make The World Go ’Round!

Albertans are now invited to participate by placing a sticker on a world map at their site indicating a unique location where they have cleaned their hands. Postcards will also be available if they would like to share an anecdote about the location. For additional information or to submit stories, please visit: https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/info/Page15262.aspx.

AHS asks Albertans to learn and practise good hand hygiene at all times as a proactive way to protect their health and the health of those around them. This is particularly important while visiting AHS facilities to help ensure patient safety. Additionally, AHS encourages patients and families to ask their healthcare providers if they have cleaned their hands.

Remember to clean your hands: Using soap and warm water, wash your hands thoroughly and often, including after coughing, sneezing, using tissues or the washroom, and before eating or preparing foods. Alcohol-based hand rub or sanitizer can also be helpful if hands are not visibly soiled. Make a point of keeping hands and fingers away from your eyes, nose and mouth.

Alberta Health Services is the provincial health authority responsible for planning and delivering health supports and services for more than four million adults and children living in Alberta. Its mission is to provide a patient-focused, quality health system that is accessible and sustainable for all Albertans.