Inside Duke Medicine
Soap or sanitize please
posted July 14th, 2010
Loukisha Roberts, RN, Float Pool, (far right) submitted the winning slogan for the Hand Hygiene Campaign. She is pictured with Joy Vollers, RN, Infection Control manager.
To improve hand-washing compliance and reduce the risk of infections, a group of Nurse Practice Council members designed a competition for Durham Regional employees.
The task was to submit a slogan, phrase or acronym that could be used internally to remind our team members about the importance of hand-washing. We wanted a non-threatening way to take advantage of every hand-washing opportunity, before and after every patient.
We were pleasantly surprised to receive approximately 40 entries in two weeks. The submissions included phrases, jingles, posters and even poems. The entrants represented many departments in the hospital.
The committee had a challenging time narrowing down the choices, but in the end, settled on S.O.S. (Soap Or Sanitize Please) submitted by Loukisha Roberts, RN, Float Pool. This slogan is friendly, but suggests a call for help in order to help save a life
through the simple act of washing or disinfecting your hands before and after patient contact.
Second place was awarded to Rita Clark, RN, ACU/SDA, for the acronym CHAMP (Clean Hands Are My Promise), and honorable mention went to Gary Barrow-West, RN, Radiology Nursing, for DRH (Do the Right thing…Handwashing).
There were many other clever and effective slogans and posters that we hope to share with employees in future campaigns. We appreciate the enthusiasm and energy that our staff demonstrated by taking our contest to heart.
Let’s all try to S.O.S. to give our patients the very best care here at Durham Regional Hospital!