AORN and 3M Accepting Submissions for Perioperative Hand Hygiene Champions Award

As an extension of the well -received “It’s In Your Hands” Campaign to recognize the contribution of perioperative professionals who adhere to good hand hygiene practices, 3M and the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) today announced the start of a second recognition program called the Perioperative Hand Hygiene Champions Award. Perioperative professionals are encouraged to visit www.aorn.org to download a short submission form, describing how an individual or team demonstrates proper hand hygiene practices to staff and patients and has influenced increased compliance among their peers.

“The Perioperative Hand Hygiene Champions Award is a great way to recognize a colleague or a team for their efforts in promoting hand hygiene best practices,” said Linda Groah, RN, MSN, CNOR, NEA-BC, FAAN, executive director/CEO of AORN. “We know there are nurses and other healthcare professionals who are creating unique programs that improve adherence to proper hand hygiene.  We want to encourage their efforts.”

Submissions will be judged on the following criteria, based on programs implemented over the past 24 months:

-- Demonstrated passion for hand hygiene and AORN hand hygiene Recommended Practices

-- Unique use of communication to reach members of their facilities (Example: did the person start a Facebook page to promote proper hand hygiene or Tweet information to followers?) 

-- Collaborations fostered within the facility or professional community to promote proper hand hygiene practices

Nominations will be accepted until April 30 and recipients will be notified by May 6, the beginning of National Nurses Week. The Perioperative Hand Hygiene Champions will be publicly announced, awarded a framed certificate of appreciation in recognition of their efforts and invited to participate in special initiatives.