Constant reminders and easy access encourage healthy hand-washing habits

In the last year, despite ominous threats from public health officials, the United States did not suffer a catastrophic H1N1 pandemic. The new strain of the influenza virus took its toll on American schools and businesses, but it was neither as deadly nor as devastating as officials at the Centers for Disease Control had predicted. Although the threat of widespread flu has not completely abated, it has substantially diminished, and healthcare professionals are breathing deep sighs of relief and educating the public regarding proper hand hygiene is part of an ongoing agenda.

Epidemiologists credit public awareness and common sense for containing the threat. At the peak of the H1N1 crisis, Americans developed two extremely healthy habits that will continue to protect them against outbreaks of potentially fatal viruses: They learned to get vaccinated as soon as vaccines become available, and they learned to wash their hands frequently in order to control the spread of viruses and bacteria by way of a hand hygiene program. Of the two, the national obsession with hand-washing is unquestionably the most significant.

Courtesy, Custom, and Compliance

Dr. Annelyse Richardson, professor of medicine, reports, "Reliable studies show that rates of regular hand-washing or sanitizing doubled during the H1N1 scare. The increase sounds encouraging," Dr. Richardson says, "but we still have a long way to go." She points to one especially glaring statistic: Among elementary school-aged boys, only 30% routinely wash their hands after using the restroom, and among teen-aged boys the rate actually drops to 25%. For this reason, OzarkRiver.com, portable sink manufacturer and innovator of portable hand wash stations, offers a free hand washing poster download for anyone interested in educating the public on proper hand washing and hand santization procedures.

Richardson stresses, "Children and teen-agers forget that they transmit viruses and bacteria when they touch their noses and mouths, and they fail to wash their hands before and after eating or after blowing their noses. Germs often travel directly from nose to hand to crayons and pencils, spreading then among a dozen or so children in a matter of minutes." Showing her empathy, Richardson explains, "Often, it is a question of access. In schools, we do not always have the facilities or the reminders the law requires or best practices suggest. Administrators, teachers, school nurses, and parents should do all they can to promote healthy hand-washing habits, but in a choice between buying a set of math books or providing a classroom sink, the math books usually win."

Dr. Richardson very strongly recommends reminding children and adolescents constantly to wash their hands, and she points out that they also need direct instruction in how to wash their hands properly. "We need constantly to remind kids that hand-washing is a matter of courtesy and respect, it's a matter of custom-doing the right thing, and it's a matter of following the rules. We also need to reinforce peer pressure about hand-washing by way of hand wash programs and public awareness."

Special requirements in food service and healthcare

Access and notification gain extra urgency in the food service and healthcare industries, where negligent workers frequently can cause severe influenza or hepatitis outbreaks. "Honestly," admits Aracelli O'Neill, a Certified Nurse Practitioner, "among restaurant owners, I would stress the financial risks associated with employees' poor hand-washing practices. Just one outbreak traced to just one restaurant can kill an entire chain. One negligent employee can infect hundreds of customers in an eight-hour shift."

Portable Sinks and Hand wash stations

Ozark River manufactures America's most reliable, durable hand-washing stations. Light-weight, self-contained, easy to connect, and extremely affordable, Ozark River sinks work well in all kinds of settings where frequent hand0washing is essential. Ozark River makes portable sinks specifically designed for classrooms, jobsites, restaurants, employees' restrooms and break rooms, and medical facilities. Ozark River's distinguished design and engineering team collaborated with customers, listening carefully and developing products according to their needs. The team's designs have won awards for their quality and their compliance with the nation's highest safety standards.

As Ozark River's professionals worked with educators and healthcare professionals, they learned two critical facts about people's hand-washing habits. First, unless they see point-of-service reminders about the importance of hand-washing, three out of four people will forget to wash their hands when they should. Second, and perhaps more importantly, most people do not know how to wash their hands properly and completely. Responding to the need for reminders and instructions, Ozark River has developed a poster that shows step-by-step the process for thorough hand-washing, and you can download the attractive, easy-to-read, fully illustrated poster from Ozark River's website. This hand hygiene poster is free to everyone compliments of Ozark River.