MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 27, 2013
Helping Children’s Hospital patients stay healthy
LONDON, Ontario – Children’s Hospital today launched a customized hand washing campaign intended to help paediatric patients and their families stay healthy inside and outside of London Health Sciences Centre.
Thanks to funding from the Children’s Health Foundation, paediatric inpatient and day unit patients aged four to nine will learn about hand hygiene, get to check their hand-washing skills with Glitterbug’s ultraviolet light technology, and take home the Canadian Institute of Child Health’s colouring book “William: Won’t You Wash Your Hands?” when they visit LHSC.
“Washing hands saves lives,” says Bonnie Adamson, President and CEO, “and we all have a vital role in preventing the spread of infections. This innovative approach to hand hygiene is expected to improve the patient experience as well as increase quality and safety for our patients and their families."
Lisa Kroesbergen, an Infection Control Practitioner, says young children, those with chronic illnesses and those who are immunocompromised are all at risk of becoming critically ill from infections that are preventable through good hand hygiene.
“By educating this population and their families, we are giving them the tools they need to help keep healthy,” Kroesbergen says.
“Children’s Health Foundation is very proud to support the paediatric hand washing initiative in collaboration with Children’s Hospital,” says Susan Crowley, President and CEO of the Children’s Health Foundation. “While it seems simple, this initiative is vitally important in demonstrating proper hand hygiene to our young patients.”
The paediatric hand hygiene campaign kicks off today at a launch party for hospital staff, patients and their families. Infection control professionals and young patients eager to demonstrate their hand washing skills will be available to the media between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. today.
About London Health Sciences Centre
London Health Sciences Centre has been at the forefront of medicine in Canada for 138 years and offers the broadest range of specialized clinical services in Ontario. Building on the traditions of its founding hospitals to provide compassionate care in an academic teaching setting, London Health Sciences Centre is home to Children’s Hospital, University Hospital, Victoria Hospital, the Kidney Care Centre, two family medical centres, and two research institutes – Children’s Health Research Institute and Lawson Health Research Institute. As a leader in medical discovery and health research, London Health Sciences Centre has a history of over 65 international and national firsts and attracts top clinicians and researchers from around the world. As a regional referral centre, London Health Sciences Centre cares for the most medically complex patients including critically injured adults and children in southwestern Ontario and beyond. The hospital’s nearly 15,000 staff, physicians, students and volunteers provide care for more than one million patient visits a year. For more information visit www.lhsc.on.ca
Children’s Health Foundation
Children’s Health Foundation is dedicated to raising and granting funds to support Children’s Hospital at London Health Sciences Centre, Thames Valley Children's Centre and Children’s Health Research Institute. Since 1922, funds raised have helped deliver exceptional care and support for children and their families by providing specialized paediatric care, equipment, education programs, therapy, rehabilitation services and research. To learn more about how you can positively impact the health of children, youth and their families, please visit www.childhealth.ca.
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For media inquiries contact:
Scot Magnish
Corporate Communications and Public Relations
London Health Sciences Centre
519-685-8500, ext. 77062
Scot.Magnish@lhsc.on.ca
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Call LHSC Switchboard at 519-685-8500 and ask to page the communication consultant on-call
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