The Healthy Workplace Project is an initiative directed by Kimberly Clark. The HWP works to prevent illness and sickness in the workplace, but many of their tips can be applied in your home, apartment, dormitory, or wherever it is that you find yourself spending a majority of your time! With the holiday season quickly approaching many people will find themselves in and out of stores to find the perfect gift for their loved ones (touching door handles), traveling by way of airplanes or other forms of transportation, and spending time with family and friends. THE HWP talks about spotting "hot zones." Hot Zones are places where the possibility of germ transmission is at it's highest. According to Kimberly Clark and the Health Work Place Project the following are considered hot zones:
1. Doors. It is recommended to wipe doorknobs and handles daily, and to use hand sanitizer while entering and exiting the building. It is important to wipe daily due to the fact that germs can live on hard surfaces for up to 48 hours.
2. Copy Stations. Did you know that adults touch their faces on average 15.7 times every hour? This makes hand washing incredibly important. If you wash and properly dry your hands you can reduce 77% of bacteria.
3. Elevator Buttons. Due to the fact that everyone has to touch the button to get where they need to go it is incredibly contaminated. This same concept goes for ATM buttons, restroom toilet handles, etc. Don't forget to use hand sanitizer especially when touching these items.
4. Stair Railings. Wipe these daily. A person with a virus on their hands can transfer those germs onto surfaces up to 7 times.
5. Conference Tables. When large amounts of people gather it makes it especially easy to transfer germs. Wipe down tables at least every day. (just think about the desks that we sit in throughout our classes, do you think that these are ever wiped down?)
6. Lobby Areas. Viruses can live on surfaces such as chairs and tables from 20 minutes to 2 hours.
Apart from the listed hot spots above, places on our campus that are sure to harbor many bacteria and viruses are places such as computer labs, Rec Sports center, dining halls, desks in class rooms and many more. Do yourself a favor and carry your own small hand sanitizer in your backpack or purse. It has been proven that using hand sanitizer can reduce your sick days by up to 21%, who doesn't want to do that for themselves and their employees? If people are healthy for more days out of the year they are able to be more productive and efficient in their work and studies. Three easy tips to remember are: Wash, Wipe and Sanitize!
Keeping our hands clean is one of the best and easiest ways to prevent the spread of infection and illness! Here are some tips to ensure that you are practicing proper hand washing:
Wet your hands, Rub your hands together (sing happy birthday from beginning to end twice in your head, or out loud if you want to be entertaining to those around you!), Rinse your hands, Dry your hands well using a clean towel or an air dryer, whichever is available to you.
Sources:
(1) http://www.healthyworkplaceproject.com/creating-healthy-workplaces.aspx
(2) http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/
(3) http://www.cdc.gov/features/handwashing/
Grace, great points especially since we have entered flu/cold season. I just wanted to add that having sanitizing/alcohol wipes around are also very helpful. Not too long ago, where I work, many individuals, including my direct supervisor were sick with the good old sniffles and coughs. They were careful to not come to close to me (really, it was me doing most of the avoiding); however, we all were handling fomites (pens, phones, keyboards, scanners) and I was just expecting to get sick and be miserable. Thankfully, there were Lysol/Clorox wipes that I used almost every single time someone stole my pen and fortunately (knock on wood) I haven't gotten sick. To add to your list for awareness, soft surfaces are less likely to transfer bacteria than hard surfaces are, and viruses, since they are neither dead nor alive, can stick around for many hours!
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a relevant topic for this class and especially during this time of year. I find the Healthy Workplace Project very insightful and I am curious as to how many companies or businesses may incorporate it in their employee trainings. Your suggestions on hand washing are great! However, from a male’s perspective, I see a great deal of individuals who either do not wash their hands at all after using the restroom or barely rinse their hands and rub with soap. Neither one of these techniques are effective in reducing the spread of germs or bacteria. We have the resources available to help slow the transmission of disease and germs, but not everyone uses them. Think about how these resources could be used in other places around the world. If remote tribes in Africa had access to clean soap and water, would they use it? Would it help reduce their health disparities? As Americans, we take a lot for granted and this is just one small example of that.
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