Atlantic Health System Public Relations Department
Elaine Andrecovich
Morristown, NJ – Atlantic Health System’s Morristown Medical Center has been recognized nationally for its clinical team’s exceptional hand hygiene.
The medical center received the 2019 Breakthrough Performance in Hand Hygiene Compliance Award, which recognizes the sole hospital in the nation that showed the greatest improvement in hand hygiene compliance, at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) annual meeting on June 12 in Philadelphia.
Data from specific quarters in 2017 and 2018, compared to those same quarters in 2018 and 2019 showed that Morristown Medical Center improved its compliance by 13.4 percent, with a 12-month compliance rate of 94.5 percent.
By comparison, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that healthcare provides clean their hands less than half of the times that they should.
“Morristown Medical Center is proud to be recognized as a national leader in hand hygiene compliance, which helps create and sustain a healing environment for our patients,” said Cindy Dugan, RN, MAS, CPHQ, Director, Quality & Patient Safety, Morristown Medical Center. “Over the past few years, Morristown Medical Center and all hospitals within Atlantic Health System diligently worked to identify challenges and implement effective solutions that helped us reduce healthcare associated infections and review our progress in real-time.”
With initial goals to decrease hospital-associated infections and accurately measure hand hygiene compliance, Atlantic Health System introduced the DebMed Electronic Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring System in July 2015.
The DebMed Electronic Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring System is the only research-based, badge-free system able to track compliance based on the World Health Organization’s ‘5-Moments’ and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hand hygiene standards. With its ability to capture 100 percent of hand hygiene events and opportunities beyond just room entry and exit, it promotes a spirit of collaboration and accountability and provides actionable feedback for the group without singling out individuals.
Atlantic Health System has experienced the following benefits since implementing the DebMed Electronic Hand Hygiene Compliance Monitoring System:
In addition, the infection prevention team led monthly meetings to keep team members abreast of real-time data, and brainstormed additional ways to improve compliance, which included:
“Hand-washing is the single most effective way to help prevent infection and stop the spread of diseases and airborne illnesses, and it made sense for us to undertake a campaign that not only helped decrease HAIs and improve compliance, but literally change the culture of our healing environment,” said Christine Young-Ruckriegel, MSN,MPA,RN, CIC, Infection Prevention Program Manager, Morristown Medical Center. “I am proud to say that hand hygiene compliance is now one of the central points of discussion in all of our leadership meetings, daily huddles, and unit discussions, and truly one of the most important points of patient care.”
More information on our past hand hygiene compliance recognitions >
Atlantic Health System is at the forefront of medicine, setting standards for quality health care in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the New York metropolitan area. Powered by a workforce of 17,000 team members and 4,800 affiliated physicians dedicated to building healthier communities, Atlantic Health System serves more than half of the state of New Jersey including 11 counties and 4.9 million people. The system offers 400 sites of care, including six hospitals: Morristown Medical Center in Morristown, NJ, Overlook Medical Center in Summit, NJ, Newton Medical Center in Newton NJ, Chilton Medical Center in Pompton Plains, NJ, Hackettstown Medical Center in Hackettstown, NJ and Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown, NJ.
In addition to the employed workforce, Atlantic Alliance, a Clinically Integrated Network represents more than 2,500 health care providers throughout northern and central NJ. This network includes 1,000 physicians and providers comprising one of the largest multi-specialty practices in New Jersey - Atlantic Medical Group, as well as members of the Atlantic Accountable Care Organization and Optimus Healthcare Partners, which work to enhance patient care delivery.
Atlantic Health System provides care for the full continuum of health needs, including 12 urgent care centers, Atlantic Rehabilitation and Atlantic Home Care and Hospice. Facilitating the connection between these services on both land and air is the transportation fleet of Atlantic Mobile Health.
Atlantic Health System leads the Healthcare Transformation Consortium, a partnership of seven regional hospitals and health systems dedicated to improving access and affordability, and is a founding member of the PIER Consortium – Partners in Innovation, Education, and Research – a streamlined clinical trial system expanding access to groundbreaking research across seven health systems in New Jersey.
Atlantic Health System has a medical school affiliation with Thomas Jefferson University and is home to the regional campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Morristown and Overlook Medical Centers and is the official health care partner of the New York Jets.