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Clean Hands Count

Clean Hands Save Lives in Healthcare

This World Hand Hygiene Day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention launched “Clean Hands Count,” a new hand hygiene campaign focused on improving adherence to hand hygiene recommendations, dispelling myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene, and empowering patients.

An estimated 722,000 healthcare-associated infections occur each year in U.S. hospitals. About 75,000 patients with these infections die during their hospital stays. Although hands are known to be a major factor in germ spread in healthcare facilities, studies show that adherence to CDC hand hygiene recommendations remains low among providers, with clinicians on average cleaning their hands less than half of the times they should.

CDC’s new campaign uses dramatic imagery and active messages to catch healthcare providers’ attention, dispel myths about hand hygiene, improve hand hygiene practices, and ultimately stop the spread of dangerous infections.

For more details see the full press release.

Contact Information

CDC Media Relations
(404) 639-3286
media@cdc.gov

Spokespersons

Arjun Srinivasan, MD

Arjun Srinivasan, MD – Associate Director for Healthcare-Associated Infection Prevention Programs, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion

Clifford McDonald, MD

Clifford McDonald, MD – Associate Director of Science, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion

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