GOJO Announces Launch of SMARTLINK™ Hand Hygiene Solutions to Help Hospitals Build and Sustain Hand Hygiene Compliance

AKRON, Ohio, May 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- GOJO Industries, a leader in hand hygiene and skin health and inventors of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer, is assisting Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) in measuring and improving hand hygiene compliance through its SMARTLINK Activity Monitoring System.

TSRHC is on the forefront of advancing hand hygiene compliance among its more than 800 healthcare staff.  The data collected from the SMARTLINK technology is used by the hospital's infection preventionists to understand the actual number of hand hygiene opportunities compared to actual dispenses of hand hygiene products.  With the data, the infection preventionist will have a better understanding of challenges and obstacles, and can provide education to help improve hand hygiene compliance.

"Providing the best care while ensuring patient safety is our top priority," said Debbie Sayles, vice president and chief nursing officer for TSRHC.  "Everyone at our hospital wants to provide the very best care for the patient and building a culture of hand hygiene is part of this commitment.  But we know we can't improve what we don't measure.  Now we have data that will help us educate our staff and ultimately improve our hospital's hand hygiene compliance." 

"GOJO has a long history providing the most efficacious hand hygiene products and high performance dispensing systems, and decades of experience helping hospitals around the world to improve hand hygiene effectiveness," said Martin O'Toole, hand hygiene compliance business team vice president.  "Innovation in technology-based hand hygiene systems has been a priority at GOJO for a number of years.  SMARTLINK Hand Hygiene Solutions are a set of new products, applications and services to improve clinical hand hygiene in pursuit of improved patient outcomes.  Early indications show that this type of technology and system can help healthcare workers in all hospitals achieve higher hand hygiene compliance rates. These are important developments and have the potential to help hospitals, like TSRHC take their care to the next level."

The importance and trend toward hand hygiene compliance is increasing due to the number of healthcare associated infections (HAI).  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5-10 percent of all hospitalized will get a HAI while in the hospital, which accounts for 1.7 million infections annually and 99,000 deaths.  The CDC recommends keeping hands clean as one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness.¹

About Texas Scottish Rite

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children is one of the nation's leading pediatric centers for the treatment of orthopaedic conditions, certain related neurological disorders and learning disorders, such as dyslexia.  Admission is open to Texas children from birth up to 18 years of age.  Patients receive treatment regardless of the family's ability to pay.  For more information, to volunteer or to make a donation, call (214) 559-5000 or (800) 421-1121 or visit www.tsrhc.org.

About GOJO

GOJO Industries, Inc. (www.gojo.com) is the inventor of PURELL® Advanced Instant Hand Sanitizer and the leading global producer and marketer of skin health and hygiene solutions for away-from-home settings.  The broad GOJO product portfolio includes hand cleaning, handwashing, hand sanitizing and skin care formulas under the GOJO®, PURELL® and PROVON® brand names. GOJO formulations use the latest advances in the science of skin care and sustainability.  GOJO is known for state-of-the-art dispensing technology, engineered with attention to design, sustainability and functionality.  GOJO programs promote healthy behaviors for hand hygiene, skin care and compliance in critical environments.  GOJO is a privately held corporation headquartered in Akron, with offices in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Japan and Brazil. 

¹ http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/

SOURCE GOJO Industries, Inc.