Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical Center (JBVAMC) in Chicago, Illinois, has installed Xhale innovations’ (XI) HyGreen Hand Hygiene System.
HyGreen is designed to remind healthcare workers to wash their hands and after washing, healthcare workers place their hands under the HyGreen hand wash sensor that sends a wireless ‘all clean’ message to a badge worn by the healthcare worker.
A wireless monitor above the patient bed searches for the message and if it is absent, the badge vibrates, to remind the healthcare worker to wash before patient contact.
All interactions are recorded in a database providing an objective means of assessment of hand hygiene by Infection Control.
The HyGreen system was designed to reflect guidelines from leading industry experts, including the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Joint Commission.
XI CEO Craig Davenport said not only will HyGreen help Jesse Brown VA Medical Center enhance its efforts to protect patients from hospital-associated infections; it will also help them reduce costs.
"Because infections can extend hospital stays on an average of 8 days, a reduction in infections will mean a reduction in hospital costs," Davenport said.