Event Details

Hand hygiene is essential for preventing the spread of infections and multi-drug-resistant organisms. The main objective of hand hygiene is to reduce preventable health care-associated infections (HAIs) by improving hand hygiene practice among health care workers. Public Health Ontario has launched a new Hand Hygiene program that builds on the successes of the Just Clean Your Hands Program and provides new updates and strategies to improve hand hygiene practice among health care workers.

This revised program promotes innovative strategies that address persistent challenges individuals face reaching their hand hygiene goals. This program recognizes that sectors and settings have unique needs and that a one-size- fits-all approach is not always appropriate. It encourages thoughtful adaptions, where needed, to align with the needs, context and preferences of each sector. This session will highlight the key elements of the program, including environmental supports, education, team-based problem-solving and habit formation.

Intended Audience:
Infection prevention and control (IPAC) professionals in acute care and long-term care/retirement home sectors, hand hygiene program leads and educators, IPAC program supports (e.g. public health units and IPAC Hub professionals) and other professionals working in hand hygiene/IPAC quality improvement.

By the end of this event, participants will be able to:

• Define the continuing need for hand hygiene improvement.
• Describe the new PHO hand hygiene program, including the incorporated improvement strategies.
• Identify how the new hand hygiene program can be implemented/utilized within their specific setting.
• Discuss how the new program can be used to address persistent hand hygiene challenges.

Lori Schatzler, RN, BScN, CIC, COHN(C) is an Infection Prevention and Control Specialist with Public Health Ontario (PHO). Lori has a background in occupational health, primary care, and public health nursing. Lori has maintained her certifications in infection control and occupational health nursing since 2010 and brings these areas of expertise to her current role with PHO.

Eva Skiba, RN, BScN (Hons.), CIC, GNC joined PHO as an Infection Control Consultant in 2009. She has a degree in nursing and holds her GNC and CIC designation. She is a member of IPAC Canada and held a position of a president of the IPAC-Canada GTA chapter. Eva began her career in the Long-Term Care sector in the 1990’s, where she acquired extensive experience in both the infection control professional and director of care roles. Eva also worked in Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) in the acute care sector at Credit Valley Hospital in 2009, prior to joining PHO. Eva has presented at national conferences and at provincial and local events.

The opinions expressed by speakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies or views of Public Health Ontario, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations imply endorsement by Public Health Ontario.

Public Health Ontario is committed to complying with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). If you require accommodations to participate in this event, please contact 647-260-7100 or capacitybuilding@oahpp.ca.