APIC 2017 Film Festival Winner Highlights Hand Hygiene as Infection Prevention Tool

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) announced Providence Health & Services Alaska as the winner of its seventh annual Film Festival competition, to be awarded during APIC’s 44th Annual Conference. The video, “Look at Me Hand Hygiene,” emphasizes proper handwashing techniques for hospital staff and visitors.
 
Providence’s music video draws attention to the importance of thorough and consistent hand washing, stressing that 20-25 seconds is needed to achieve clean hands. The video outlines “wet, lather, scrub, rinse, dry” (W.L.S.R.D.) as the basic steps for hand hygiene and infection prevention.
 
“Utilizing a music video format to provide an overview of hand hygiene best practices is a great way to disseminate our most important infection prevention intervention,” said APIC 2017 Annual Conference Chair, Timothy Wiemken, PhD, MPH, CIC, FAPIC. “Providence’s video is such an amazing addition to the Film Festival winner’s circle, and their creation can be used as a unique tool to drive home the importance of hand hygiene.”
 
An expert panel of judges selected the winning video for its inventiveness, originality, general appeal, significance to the infection prevention community, and educational message.
 
Many of the other Film Festival submissions used heartwarming messages, humor, and music to underscore their messages. Lake Health of Northeast Ohio parodied pop singer Meghan Trainor in its “We're All About Those Hands!” video to highlight how clean hands lead to healthy patients. The Quality Department at Mon Health Medical Center in Morgantown, West Virginia parodied hit song “Uptown Funk” in its “Infectious Funk” video to educate hospital staff on the repercussions lack of hand washing has on patients. 
 
View all of the video submissions on the APIC website. APIC conference attendees can vote for the APIC 2017 Film Festival People’s Choice Award winner, which will be announced at the closing plenary session on Friday, June 16.  
 
Source: APIC