Willows to engage residents’ council about the importance of hand-hygiene
DOC to demonstrate ‘fun’ educational tool to residents
Friday April 25, 2008 -- Deron Hamel
Rosemary Ferraro is spearheading a move to help educate residents at Willows Estate about the important role hand-washing plays in curbing the risk of infection in long-term care homes.

To demonstrate the value of hand-hygiene, Ferraro, the director of care at the Aurora long-term care home, will be taking the GlitterBug GlitterBuddy, a state-of-the-art educational tool, to the home’s next residents’ council meeting.

The GlitterBug GlitterBuddy is a device adorned with the cartoonish purple GlitterBug character containing a box-shaped device with a lamp that can detect unclean areas of people’s hands.

According to its website, the GlitterBug, a kit manufactured by the U.S.-based Brevis Corp., is designed to make “hand hygiene education interesting, fun, and memorable.”

The GlitterBug kit contains a fine powder representing bacteria which participants rub on their hands. After the powder is applied participants wash their hands. When hands are washed and dried, they’re placed under the GlitterBug’s lamp.

If there’s any residue from the powder left on hands it will show under the light, indicating the individual didn’t do a good enough job washing.

“Hand-washing is your No. 1 infection control, so (residents) need to know that, and they need to tell their visitors that,” says Ferraro. “The more something is reinforced in a home, the better it is.”

Ferraro recently received the GlitterBug kit from OMNI’s chief operating officer Candace Chartier. She says she believes the gadget will pique residents’ interest.

Because the home is always trying to promote hand-hygiene to visitors, Ferraro also plans to demonstrate the GlitterBug to family council.

“I think it’s a really good way of showing them how much you have to wash your hands to get the germs off,” she says.

Springdale Country Manor received a GlitterBug kit in October. Since then, personal support worker Sharon Parnell has used the tool at the Peterborough long-term care home to underscore the importance of thorough hand-washing to staff members.

Parnell says the GlitterBug has been a worthy educational tool at the home.

“It makes you more aware,” she says. “Being in the health sector we know that there are germs and viruses that float around, but to actually visualize it and see it certainly helps you to be a little more careful.”

Upon learning that Ferraro is taking the GlitterBug to residents’ council at Willows Estate, Parnell says it’s something she’s considering, too.

You can visit the GlitterBug website at www.glitterbug.com.

What is your home doing to promote the importance of hand-hygiene to residents? If you have a story you would like to share, please contact deron(at)axiomnews.ca.

Related story:
Springdale discovers fun hand-washing education tool

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