Stop! Clean Your Hands Day - May 5

Cleaning your hands is key to safe health care and a simple action that is proven to be the most effective way to reduce the spread of infection and prevent harm. Consider these facts:

• Each year, about 8,000 Canadians die from a health care acquired infection, 220,000 others get infected
• Infection leads to prolonged hospitalization, special control measures, additional treatments and extensive observation
• Research indicates that improvements in hand hygiene activities could potentially reduce infection rates by up to 50%
• Using an alcohol-based hand rub is recommended for routine hand cleaning in most situations where hands are not visibly soiled

As part of a national day of action on May 5, we ask you to Stop! Clean Your Hands. To help create awareness about the importance of clean hands and to make hand hygiene a priority for all of us – WGH will share information with providers and patients.