World Hand Hygiene Day is May 5

The World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day today May 5th. The goal is to encourage healthcare providers to promote good hand hygiene measures to reduce the risk of infection among patients. A day devoted to reminding health care providers of the importance of properly washing hands? Are you kidding? Isn't this not only a given that they are taught how, when, where and why to wash hands effectively on the first day of any nursing (Aides, LPN, RN) or medical school program? How about the lack of washing hands in public restrooms--or for that matter at home after using the bathroom? Restroom observers with Harris Interactive reported that 85 percent of men and women observed at public places in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco washed their hands after using a public bathroom. But when surveyed on the phone 96 percent of people said they always washed their hands after using a public bathroom. Someone is not telling the truth! And since restroom observers cannot go from home to home to sit and watch someone after they flush--the phone survey revealed that 89 percent claim to wash their hands after going to the bathroom. The message is pretty simple-- washing your hands rinses away bathroom germs, protecting yourself and others. In addition to washing your hands, you might want to take some extra precautions when you're in a public restroom. The fewer surfaces you touch, the better!