On May 5, 2011, SCHA and its partners will celebrate the anniversary of the South Carolina statewide hand hygiene collaborative. May 5 has been designated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the official day to celebrate hand hygiene.
Dirty hands can kill you!
- 80 percent of all infections are spread by dirty hands.
- Infections can cause mild or very serious illnesses, and many people die from infections.
- Your hands become contaminated when you touch just about anything.
- 94% of money is contaminated, yet only 21% of people wash their hands after handling money.
- 500 times more germs can live on office desks and telephones than on the typical public toilet seat.
- Flu viruses can survive on surfaces up to 8 hours.
- A sneeze may produce up to 40,000 contaminated droplets traveling a speed of more than 200 miles per hour. Those droplets can stay in the air for hours.
- Soap and water kill most germs.
Fight grime and save lives by washing your hands
Washing our hands is our best defense against germs that make us sick. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for 20 seconds. If soap and clean water are not available, use an alcohol-based sanitizer and you’re your hands together.
About the GSI:SC Campaign
Started by the South Carolina Hospital Association, the Grime Scene campaign is the first statewide effort to raise awareness of the importance of clean hands. Hospitals and communities in South Carolina have implemented the campaign, which has been recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a model campaign for other communities.
To learn more about the GSI:SC campaign and how to properly was your hands, visit the GSI:SC webpage by clicking here.
Read more about how SCHA celebrated this health initiative.
Read the letter WHO sent in support and recognition of the statewide hand hygiene campaign.
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