A bacterial infection that spread from room to room in 2010 prompted the implementation of the hand hygiene program. The program included hiring four hand washing monitors, who monitor everyone’s comings and goings and note who washed their hands after walking in and out of patient rooms. This provided hospital administration with data on hand hygiene compliance on every floor and allowed them to look for improvement opportunities.
Since 2010, central line-associated bloodstream infections at MetroHealth Medical Center have decreased by 35 percent, ventilator-associated pneumonia cases reduced by 71 percent and surgical site infections dropped 64 percent, according to the report.
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