Healthcare associated infections (HAIs) pose substantial harm to hospitalized neonates and older patients alike. According to a 2011 Center for Disease Control and Prevention report, there are an estimated 722,000 HAIs in U.S acute care hospitals, resulting in 75,000 deaths and up to $20 billion in healthcare costs, annually. In hospitals and other clinical environments, transfer of pathogens on the hands of healthcare workers is considered an important mechanism for passing pathogenic organisms to unsuspecting patients. The importance of good hand hygiene in clinical environments is well established, however current methods (handwashing with soap and water or the use of alcohol-containing rubs) have significant limitations including: (1) the amount of time required is prohibitive, (2) alcohol rubs do not have activity against Clostridium difficile spores or non-enveloped viruses like norovirus, and (3) current hand hygiene methods are subject to significant variability. The primary objective of this project is to generate efficacy and safety data needed to apply a proprietary antiseptic solution in a novel automated hand sanitization system that will be fast (3-5s), will leave hands dry, and will be located near the patient, especially infants, to significantly improve the frequency and quality of hand hygiene procedures.
