DebMed to Display Client's Increased Hand Hygiene Compliance Rates and World's First Monitored Point-of-Care Dispenser at APIC

CHARLOTTE, N.C., June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- APIC Booth #1924 – DebMed^®, creator of the world's first electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system based on the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, recently completed a study in conjunction with Columbia University School of Nursing and Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton, Mass. The study concluded that the implementation of the DebMed Group Monitoring System (GMS) at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, a 140-bed non-profit acute care community hospital, significantly increased its hand hygiene compliance rates in all inpatient units and the emergency department combined. DebMed will demonstrate its group monitoring system at the upcoming Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) 2013 Conference in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. June 8-10.

"The impressive outcomes from Cooley Dickinson Hospital reinforce DebMed's assertion that electronic monitoring is the best way to monitor hand hygiene compliance, and significantly better than direct observation, which is an antiquated method that produces unreliable data," said Heather McLarney, Vice President, DebMed. "We are confident that the DebMed GMS will be the impetus for hospitals to lead the change and implement real-time electronic hand hygiene monitoring, and in doing so, improve patient safety."

Cooley Dickinson Hospital has been using the DebMed GMS system-wide for over a year, and in conjunction has mandated adherence to the WHO Five Moments for Hand Hygiene guidelines.  Moving from a hand hygiene guideline where staff cleans hands only before and after patient care—which merely accounts for half of all hand hygiene opportunities--to the WHO Five Moments has further helped Cooley Dickinson increase patient safety through this higher clinical standard of care.

A separate study conducted at Duke University Medical Center and published in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology showed that even minimal improvements in hand hygiene compliance lead to substantial monetary savings for hospitals. This study stated that even a one percent increase in hand hygiene compliance would result in annual savings of $39,650 to a 200-bed hospital. For Cooley Dickinson and other facilities, that can add up to significant savings. The results of the study done at Cooley Dickinson Hospital will be featured in a poster presentation on Sunday, June 9 from 12:30 - 1:30 pm.

In addition to sharing this new research during APIC, DebMed will also unveil its latest product innovation, the world's first point-of-care monitored dispenser. Because it easily mounts to beds, carts and bedside tables, the dispenser enables efficient clinical workflow, saving staff valuable time while enabling them to easily adhere to proper hand hygiene further expanding the capabilities of the DebMed GMS electronic monitoring system.

Both the World Health Organization's Five Moments for Hand Hygiene standard and the Joint Commission Center for Transforming Healthcare Lean Six Sigma Hand Hygiene project recognize that it is essential for hand sanitizer to be immediately accessible without healthcare workers having to leave the patient environment, enabling staff to clean their hands quickly and easily at the critical point of patient care. DebMed's monitored dispenser will track and record hand hygiene moments at the point-of-care, which had not been possible until now.

"Until now, electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems have not been able to track or give staff 'credit' for cleaning their hands at the point-of-care," said McLarney. "DebMed continues to be the innovative leader in the hand hygiene market with the introduction of the world's first point-of-care dispenser to monitor hand hygiene compliance, enhancing the DebMed GMS even further to offer the most robust electronic hand hygiene system on the market."

Product demonstrations will allow attendees at APIC to directly experience the reporting features of the DebMed^® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System), the world's first automated real-time group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates based on the WHO Five Moments.

To learn more about DebMed's attendance at APIC, please visit www.debmed.com/apic-2013 

About DebMed®
DebMed is the healthcare program of the Deb Group. The DebMed program offers innovative hand hygiene products, electronic monitoring technology, and improvement tools to support hand hygiene compliance. The DebMed® GMS™ (Group Monitoring System) is the world's first group monitoring system to report hand hygiene compliance rates in real-time based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) "Five Moments for Hand Hygiene" and to date has recorded more than 27 million hand hygiene events. The electronic monitoring system is being utilized in a four year, multi-site research project being conducted by the Columbia University School of Nursing and funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). It is the first study aimed at reducing healthcare-associated infections in pediatric long-term care facilities by improving staff compliance with hand hygiene guidelines. For more information on the study or DebMed, visit www.debmed.com.

About Deb Group
Possessing international scale and strong local market presence, Deb Group provides innovative skin care programs for all types of workplace and public environments, spanning industrial, commercial, healthcare and food sectors. Headquartered in the United Kingdom with US operations based in Charlotte, NC, Deb Group is comprised of 21 companies operating in 16 countries. For more information, visit www.debgroup.com.

Follow DebMed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DebMedProgram
Like DebMed's Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/pages/DebMed/283144811774797
Connect with DebMed on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/DebMed

About Cooley Dickinson Hospital
Cooley Dickinson Hospital is a full-service community hospital ranked in the top 5 percent of all U.S. hospitals in patient safety by Healthgrades, the leading provider of information to help consumers make an informed decision about a physician or hospital. It is the only hospital in Massachusetts to achieve the HealthGrades Patient Safety Excellence Award™ for five consecutive years (2009–2013) and its VNA & Hospice of Cooley Dickinson is a 2012 HomeCare Elite™ agency. Cooley Dickinson's staff of 1,700 professionals and 300 affiliated physicians comprise a network of emergency, surgical, clinical, rehabilitative, and hospice and home care expertise that admits 6,000 patients, treats 40,000 emergency patients per year, delivers 800 babies, makes 49,000 home care and 10,000 hospice visits, and collaborates with Massachusetts General Hospital to deliver comprehensive cancer care. Cooley Dickinson's vision is to make the mid-Pioneer Valley the nation's model healthy community. Learn more at www.cooley-dickinson.org.

SOURCE DebMed