Knox Community Hospital works hard to prevent the spread of infection, a program that has only grown more important with the COVID-19 pandemic, Erin Craw, BSN, RN, an infection preventionist at the hospital, told the Mount Vernon News.

One of the most effective tools is hand washing, she said.

"We focus quite a bit on hand hygiene here at the hospital, whether it's the patient, the staff, the visitors, volunteers or vendors.”

The hospital bolsters the effort by participating in a Hand Hygiene program with the Ohio Hospital Association.

"We have a surveyor who comes in twice a month," Craw said. "She does 200 hand-washing observations of our units. She will go to each inpatient unit in the hospital, checking to see if staff sanitize or wash their hands when they go into a room and when they exit the room. She tallies those and sends us a report that day."

The hospital also uses a software program that tracks employee hand hygiene through their badges.

It's also important for visitors to have good hand hygiene, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, Craw said.

"We have hand sanitizer everywhere now," she said. "We have them on stands, on the walls, at every entry point and exit point, inside and outside every patient room," she said. "We post signs urging visitors to use it freely along with masking and hand washing."

Hospital staff are required to wear a mask upon entry into any Knox Community Hospital building.

"It's been a definite change of mindset for all of us,” she added.

With flu season approaching, it's even more important for visitors to the hospital to do their part to help control infection, Craw said.

"If you are sick, stay home from work and social activities," she advised. "If you don't feel good, you probably have something that is making you contagious and that you can spread to people."

It's also good to start teaching children early about the importance of hand washing, Craw said.

"Start it when they are little. It becomes a habit," she said.

Follow these five steps every time:

• Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
• Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.
• Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
• Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.