Orlaith Staunton, co-founder of the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention, and her daughter looked at each other in disbelief. They felt they were watching history repeat itself as a basketball coach bandaged a cut for one of his players, but without taking the precaution of cleaning the wound beforehand. That was the same scenario they believe led to sepsis and ultimately the death of Orlaith’s son Rory.
In a new post on CDC’s Safe Healthcare Blog, Orlaith explains the Rory Staunton Foundation’s back to basics approach to prevent infections that could lead to sepsis. Since one of the back to basics principles is the importance of hand washing.
Read more about this family and their work to prevent infections and sepsis on CDC’s Safe Healthcare Blog.
On May 5, the World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others celebrated World Hand Hygiene Day, which is dedicated to encouraging providers to promote and practice good hand hygiene measures to reduce the risk of infection in patients. This year’s theme was “It’s in your hands – prevent sepsis in health care.”
- Sign up to become a partner of the CDC’s Clean Hands Count campaign: https://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/campaign/partnership.html
- Encourage partners and providers to host a hand hygiene training for staff: http://www.cdc.gov/handhygiene/training.html