MCH: HyGreen Hand Hygiene Reminder System reduces infections by 89%

Apr 6 2011

Xhale Innovations (XI), a leading provider of patient safety technology, announced today the results of a study presented by Miami Children's Hospital (MCH) at the Annual Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) Conference on the HyGreen® Hand Hygiene Reminder System®. MCH reported that during the study period of September 3, 2010 - March 29, 2011, infections were reduced by 89%. The importance of this study is significant, as no other hand hygiene system has been able to correlate use of their product with a reduction in HAIs.

The study conducted by MCH, a 274-bed facility in Miami, Florida, looked at system accuracy, compliance rates, and HAI reduction rates. The results on the MCH study of HyGreen® were as follows:

• HyGreen® components and tracking system performed with 100% accuracy
• HyGreen® provided monitoring at the same intensity for all shifts in a busy pediatric oncology unit
• HyGreen® maintained hand hygiene compliance among physicians and nurses consistently above 90%
• Healthcare workers entering the proximity of a patient bed without performing hand hygiene were reminded by HyGreen® to do so 100% of the time
• Healthcare associated infections decreased by 89% during the time period when HyGreen® was the only change in practice

Barbara Simmonds, RN, CIC at Miami Children's described in the presentation the criteria that MCH was looking for in a hand hygiene system. "We wanted a system that was easy to install, had the ability to remind personnel to carry out hand hygiene between patients, had real-time reporting capabilities, was easy to maintain and cost effective. HyGreen® was the only system which met all our criteria."

"We are excited about this study and thrilled that HyGreen® has made such a significant contribution in reducing infections at Miami Children's Hospital," reports XI CEO, Craig T. Davenport. "Infection reduction not only saves lives, but it saves hospitals money. With more and more payors denying claims that include healthcare associated infections, HyGreen®, and its proven ability to reduce infections, will help hospitals improve their bottom line."