No handwashing equals fines?

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I live in southwestern PA and there was an article in the newspaper regarding one of the local health systems initiating fines for employess not washing hands. The physicians will be fined $1,000 and employees would be sent home without pay. I do not work in this health system and my system has not yet had to "crack down" on this issue. Has anyone else experienced this? If so, what impact has it had? Does it work? Thank you in advance for your response!!

Don't get me wrong, I know handwashing is important. (In fact, my husband is always asking me how many times I wash my hands AT HOME during the day and jokes that I better make sure I get my required 100 wahes in each day.) But I have a question about this touching inanimate objects thing. Are we saying that you touch an IV pole, then have to use sanitizer, go out the patient's door, touching doorhandle, use sanitizer, grab a chart, use sanitizer, sit down at computer, do some charting, use sanitizer, answer the phone, use sanitizer, etc. etc? All within 5 minutes? That's a lot of sanitizing in 5 minutes. And then, last info I had, you had to wash with soap and water after 10 sanitizings. You would get NOTHING done but sanitizing and hand washing, and then, you would have no skin left on your hands!

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I haven't heard of fines or anything like that what I HAVE heard of at least TRACKING hand washing. One system (and I can't remember which) had RFID badges that were signaled with the sanitizers and it logged how many times you hit the alcohol on the wall. That being said, I'm pretty OCD about it, myself, and have found myself alcohol sanitizing my hands 3 times out of habit while talking to a patient. The third time I do it I realize what the heck I'm doing and typically say to myself, "JEEZ NO WONDER MY FREAKING HANDS ARE RAW BY THE END OF THREE SHIFTS IN A ROW!"

I HAVE seen docs NOT hit the sanitizers, which I'm sure is a mistake, but also docs coming into rooms to look at wounds without gloves on etc. I think out of everything that's more disgusting than anything else!

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Don't get me wrong, I know handwashing is important. (In fact, my husband is always asking me how many times I wash my hands AT HOME during the day and jokes that I better make sure I get my required 100 wahes in each day.) But I have a question about this touching inanimate objects thing. Are we saying that you touch an IV pole, then have to use sanitizer, go out the patient's door, touching doorhandle, use sanitizer, grab a chart, use sanitizer, sit down at computer, do some charting, use sanitizer, answer the phone, use sanitizer, etc. etc? All within 5 minutes? That's a lot of sanitizing in 5 minutes. And then, last info I had, you had to wash with soap and water after 10 sanitizings. You would get NOTHING done but sanitizing and hand washing, and then, you would have no skin left on your hands!

You are suppose to hand wash with alcohol if not visibly soiled prior to and after all patient contact. For example, you go out of a room and fill out paperwork for a med that isn't available, look at a chart, chart your assessment, and then go into the next room you're suppose to follow the above statement. Alcohol prior to and directly after all patient contact.

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Specializes in CVICU, Obs/Gyn, Derm, NICU.

If I used the alcohol gel as much as I am supposed to ....then I would soon have broken skin areas. Then .... I'm pretty sure ....it would only be a matter of time before I have MRO colonized in my hands. Then I would not be able to work and my life would go downhill from there.

So I wash before each p't contact, dry my hands and put on gloves before I touch the p't.

I take the p't contact gloves off. I then put a fresh pair of gloves on to touch anything inanimate in the room. They come off as I leave the room. I touch absolutely nothing without gloves.

I also wear fresh gloves to touch anything inanimate in the open areas.

However I am ungloved using the computers ... this is probably not such a good idea.

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Thank you for all of your responses! I am curious about where the money that is produced from the fines would go to. Would it be used to help the individual who obtains a nosocomial infection in the hospital? Knowing the health care system it is I would say that is doubtful!!

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Specializes in Med Surg.
Thank you for all of your responses! I am curious about where the money that is produced from the fines would go to. Would it be used to help the individual who obtains a nosocomial infection in the hospital? Knowing the health care system it is I would say that is doubtful!!

If they serve stone crab claws and Taylor Swift provides the entertainment at the next Christmas party you'll have your answer.

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Specializes in Management, Emergency, Psych, Med Surg.

I believe that this practice is very poor and it will do nothing but anger the staff. The Swedish Hospital system here in Seattle has an excellent program for promoting handwashing and it is very effective. Stations are available everywhere for staff to use.

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Specializes in Post Anesthesia.

This is one of Joint Commission's hot items this year- Hospitals that want to get passing marks must show an aggressive plan to promote handwashing. Next year- who knows what the bug-a-boo will be. Hair combing, dental care, stool diaries??? I have an idea for health care reform- scrap Joint Commission for something that genuinely evaluates the important aspects of providing safe patient care. In the meantime -scrub, scrub, scrub.

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Specializes in ER.

Wonder how they will like it when the doc's pull their patients and start using another hospital?? I worked at one hospital where the ID nurse would randomly walk around and pass out movie tickets to people she saw using hand sanitizers either before entering or upon leaving a patient room or anybody just washing their hands at random like so many nurses do anyway. How many times have you found yourself at a sink washing your hands for no real apparent reason?? Not in a obsessive/compulsive capacity but just in general.

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Specializes in drug seekers and the incurably insane..
At a hospital I did clinical, the staff wore these badge things that would somehow record whether or not they used the hand sanitizer. A signal was somehow sent from the hand sanitizer dispenser.
Oh, wow!!! Come on Management.....let's go for maximum impact and really get the peons to listen.....send their lowly ***** to the gulag!!!
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