Hand Hygiene

Hand washing is the best way to prevent the spread of infection. At KDH we are working hard to make sure that all staff practice good hand hygiene.

Your healthcare provider should clean their hands –

  • Before contact with you.
  • Before a procedure.
  • After a procedure.
  • After contact with you.

It’s ok to ask any member of your healthcare team, “Did you clean your hands?” Reminders help everyone.

We report our hand hygiene compliance rates annually; to see our rates, click here.

Hand washing is not just important for staff – to stop the spread of germs, it’s important for everyone in the hospital to practice good hand hygiene, including patients, families and visitors. Please use the hand sanitizer provided at hand cleaning stations throughout the hospital. You can also wash your hands with soap and water. It is especially important to clean your hands –

  • On entering and exiting the hospital.
  • Before entering a patient room and immediately after leaving a patient room.
  • Before eating or drinking.
  • Before and after using the toilet or a bedpan.
  • Before and after touching any hospital equipment.
  • Before and after blowing your nose, sneezing, or coughing.
  • Before and after physical contact with a patient.

Did You Know?

  1. Warm water – not hot or cold – is best for washing your hands.
  2. You need to rub the soap on your hands for at least 15 seconds – about the time it takes to sing, ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’.
  3. Paper towels are the best for drying your hands. Hand dryers that blow hot air stir up bacteria from the floor.
  4. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is as good as, if not better than, soap and water: the alcohol in hand sanitizer kills bacteria, while soap and water only remove them.

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Thank You
Thank You

“I would like to extend a sincere thank you to all the physicians, nurses, nursing aides, dietary, environmental services, lab, and diagnostic imaging staff, and many others who helped so much to make my stay in March so much easier for me. It was a worrying time for me and my family. There was not a single staff member at any time who did not make me feel more at ease and well cared for. I am still finding ways to cope with my condition and slowly but steadily improving with the regular support of my doctors and remain cautiously optimistic, but it looks like a long road ahead. I learned a lot while I was being cared for, particularly about the value of those small instances of human kindness. I wanted to express my appreciation for all the dedicated work everyone at KDH does.”

Nancy