Kimberly-Clark Professional - Leads new hand hygiene initiative

By John Connole
Tuesday, 18 September, 2012

Each year around 200,000 cases of Health Care Associated Infections (HAIs) occur in Australia contributing to more than 7,000 deaths (1). Good hand hygiene is critical to reducing the spread of HAIs by breaking the chain of infection.

Not only do HAIs contribute to deaths they impose a huge financial burden to hospitals. The Medical Journal of Australia states that, ‘Surgical site infections are estimated to cost as much as $268 million each year and the total annual healthcare costs associated with blood stream infections may be as high as $686 million (2).’

During last year’s International Infection Prevention Week, KCP inspired nearly 400 healthcare workers from hospitals around Australia to make a pledge for hand hygiene, helping to raise $5,000 for UNICEF Australia’s Water and Sanitation Appeal.

Anne-Maree Bustos from Kimberly-Clark Professional said, “The aim was to encourage healthcare workers to feel equally responsible for hand hygiene and inspire them to lead by example. By encouraging them to make a pledge for hand hygiene to help raise money for UNICEF, we felt they would also be increasing awareness of the importance of good hand hygiene practice while setting a good example for colleagues and patients.”

In the lead up to International Infection Prevention Week, KCP distributed care packs to hospitals to provide healthcare workers with the tools to become advocates and ambassadors for hand hygiene. The care packs, which contain helpful hints and information about hand hygiene for patients and visitors also tie in with Hand Hygiene Australia’s ‘5 Moments for Hand Hygiene (3)’, helping everyone at the hospital play an active role in HAI prevention.

“This program differentiates itself from others by not only targeting healthcare workers, but also focusing on patients and visitors by providing tools that encourage hand hygiene in an engaging, rewarding and fun way,” said Anne-Maree.

St George Private Hospital in South Eastern Sydney proved its commitment to the cause with 70% of the hand hygiene pledges coming from the hospital’s staff. Melbourne’s Dandenong hospital and Newcastle Private Hospital also put in an enormous amount of effort that all helped towards the $5,000 donation to UNICEF’s Water and Sanitation Appeal.

Narelle Dean, Infection Prevention and Control Consultant at St George Private Hospital, said “This was an excellent initiative by Kimberly-Clark who supported and partnered with us to promote our Infection Prevention Week program. This is an innovative concept to raise the awareness and importance of hand hygiene and at the same time benefit those less fortunate than ourselves. We hope they will now have improved sanitation and clean water thanks to the generosity of Kimberly-Clark. I am very proud that our staff embraced this challenge and continue to strive for excellence in patient care and infection prevention.”

UNICEF Australia’s Chief Executive, Norman Gillespie, also commended the initiative saying “Thank you to Kimberly Clark for your donation to UNICEF’s water and sanitation appeal from the Hand Hygiene campaign. Approximately, 4,500 children still die each day from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation. UNICEF works in more than 90 countries around the world improving water supplies and sanitation facilities in schools and communities, as well as promoting safe hygiene practices. We appreciate your support in this work. It is great to see our organisations working hard to promote hygiene to save lives (4).”

This year, KCP will continue to distribute hand hygiene care packs and work closer with hospitals and UNICEF Australia to build on the success of last year’s hand hygiene campaign. The aim is to increase the amount of pledges made by hospital employees during the 2011 Infection Prevention Week and continue to raise awareness of the importance of hand hygiene in reducing the spread of HAIs.

For further information on the campaign please contact:

Anesh Naidoo, Market Segment Manager at Kimberly-Clark Professional

anesh.naidoo@kcc.com