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The Protect Our Patients program is a national campaign designed to
educate hospital patients and visitors on the steps they must take
to prevent the spread of infection.
Fliers, posters and other educational tools are located
throughout the hospital, reminding visitors to wash hands, use hand
sanitizers, cover sneezes and coughs with a tissue or upper arm, and
use disinfectant products at home.
ALMH's infection control specialist, Karen Cluver, R.N., CIC,
reminds everyone that hospital patients are usually weak and more
susceptible to infection. Each step that hospital visitors take to
prevent the spread of infection will aid patient recovery.
She reminds all visitors to wash their hands or use hand
sanitizer before entering and when leaving a patient's room; and
avoid touching anything used to care for the patient. Patients and
visitors are encouraged to ask doctors and nurses if they have
washed their hands before an examination.
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Cluver added, "If you wish to visit someone in the hospital and
you don't feel well, it is best to stay home."
According to the Association for Professionals in Infection
Control and Epidemiology, clean hands are the best protection
against spreading germs and preventing infection. Everyone should
clean their hands before eating, before and after changing wound
dressings, and after contact with bodily fluids, touching animals or
changing diapers.
Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital is a critical-access hospital
and a 12-year affiliate of Memorial Health System. For more
information on the services provided, visit
www.almh.org.
[Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital
news release] |
