Senior living and long-term care residences have unique challenges with hand hygiene as they are homes and places of care. Shared activities, including mealtimes, medical treatments and visiting relatives, all create opportunities for infection transmission. Hand hygiene remains one of the most effective (and cost-effective) methods of reducing this risk, but it requires proper compliance and safe products for sensitive, aging skin.
Soap vs hand sanitizer
While hand sanitizers are an essential addition to a hand hygiene program, they should not be relied on alone. According to Public Health Canada, you should wash your hands with plain soap and water, dry thoroughly, and sanitize when running water is unavailable. Also, consider the impact of having numerous industrial hand-sanitizer dispensers, as the environment could begin to be perceived as medical rather than homelike.
Create habits around washing hands after certain activities
Setting the example and having hand hygiene products readily available around activities including:
- After entering and before leaving the common areas
- Before preparing, handling, serving or eating food
- After personal body functions, including using the toilet, blowing your nose, coughing/sneezing
- After touching garbage or other potentially contaminated items
- Before and after caring for any type of wound
- After you touch an animal or handle food or treats for animals
- After touching any public high-touch surfaces like door handles, tables, chairs, benches, remote controls, faucets
Encouraging hand-hygiene compliance
Consider that an increase in hand hygiene adherence of only 20% results in a 40% reduction in the rate of healthcare-associated infections, so consistently encouraging hand hygiene has a massive impact on the health and happiness of your residents. (McGeer, A. “Hand Hygiene by Habit.” Infection prevention: practical tips for physicians to improve hand hygiene. Ontario Medical Review, November 2007, 74.)
Education first
While hand hygiene posters are a starting point, leadership and staff must set an example and provide in-person training. Ensure that soap covers the entire hand surface area, and work the soap under fingernails and around and between joints and fingers for a minimum of 20 seconds.
Make it easy and convenient
Accessibility and availability are crucial in creating opportunities for proper hand hygiene. Start with a risk assessment and determine the placement and types of products and dispensers your specific senior residence requires. Touchless dispensers are particularly well suited for senior communities, as they reduce the risk of cross-contamination and are more accessible for residents with disabilities or limited capacity due to strokes. Ensure that the dispensers always have product available, and opt for sealed soap systems to avoid bacteria and cross-contamination of bulk re-fillable units. Particularly for senior and long-term care residences, it is crucial to source hand hygiene products that are safe for frequent use and gentle for sensitive skin.
Our recommendation for safe, healthy hands in senior living residences
Enviro-Solutions’® specifically formulated a USDA-certified organic foaming hand soap that is safer for humans and the environment. It’s made from the highest quality hand soap, free from harsh chemicals, dyes and fragrances, and gentle for sensitive, aging skin. As intact, healthy skin is part of the body’s defence against micro-organisms, it is essential to use innovative products that are safe, effective and gentle, even with frequent use. AllOrganic® Foaming Hand Soap’s luxurious, gentle foaming formula provides healthcare standards in cleaning with a home-like feel.
Available in sealed touchless, manual cartridges or pump bottle dispensers, you can place their hand hygiene solutions throughout the residence and accessible in private rooms, shared bathrooms, and common areas.
