California Health Insurance: How Many Times a Day Would You Say You Wash Your Hands?

School is back in session, which unfortunately also means so is the spreading of germs.  I could definitely do without congested noses, fevers, ear infections and sore throats this fall and winter.  How many times in a day would you say that you wash your hands?  I have two children and I feel like I am constantly washing my hands, however I am sure it is not nearly enough.  I never realized how important it is until I had children and even more after reading a few articles in the Wall Street Journal.  Absenteeism could drastically be reduced in schools and in the work place if others made more of an effort to wash and sanitize their hands.  Many diseases and infections could have been avoided if health care workers also washed and sanitized their hands more.  As your California Insurance Company, Professional Choice Insurance strives to promote healthy living and to be attentive to the needs of our clients.  If we could prevent our employees from being sick as often and therefore serving our cliental even better, by being more sanitary, I would say that we are definitely up to the challenge. 

In an article titled Schooling Kids to Wash Hands Cuts Sick Days, they mentioned a recent study that was published in the American Journal of Infection Control.  “For three months in 2007, 290 Danish schoolchildren age 5 to 15 were asked to disinfect their hands with ethanol-based gel three times a day. The children also were taught proper hand-washing techniques.”  The other group of children, which served as the control group, in a nearby school, was given pamphlets about the importance of hygiene, however were not asked to alter their normal routine in anyway.  It turned out that  “the hand-disinfecting group had 26% fewer missed days and 22% fewer illness periods than the control school.”  If we could improve the amount of sicknesses being spread in schools, imagine what we could do in the health care industry if we could get all health care workers to make hand washing more habitual.

Another article in the Wall Street Journal that I found quite revealing is titled, Changing One Word to Get Health-Care Workers to Wash Their Hands.  Did you know that, “research suggests compliance with so-called ‘hand hygiene’ guidelines is less than 50% in many hospitals?”  Another article titled, Joint Commission to Help Hospitals Fix, Not Just Identify, Problems stated, “hand-washing, widely regarded as the best defense against infections that kill nearly 100,000 patients annually.”  100,000 patients, that is a huge number!  There have been several recommendations as to how we can increase hand washing in the medical industry.  However, Adam Grant, an organizational psychologist and associate professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, who is mentioned in the Health-Care Workers article, had a very unique idea.  He observed that most hand washing signs in hospitals “emphasized hand-washing (or using alcohol gel) as a way to protect the health-care worker from getting sick.”  He believes that the majority of individuals think that it will never happen to them.  In addition with his experience he has perceived that most medical workers decided to become apart of the health care industry because of their genuine concern for others, not necessarily themselves.  He suggest signs that convey the message that, “Hand hygiene prevents patients from catching diseases.”  Do you agree with Adam Grant?  What possible suggestions might you have for increasing hand washing in hospitals?

Professional Choice Insurance knows that a quality California Health Insurance policy is a must have for every individual and family.  Sicknesses, infections and diseases are an unfortunate reality of life.  After reading these articles however, I do feel a bit enlightened as to something so small and simple that we can do, which will help avoid the spread of so much illness.  I would like to make a commitment to all of you that I will wash and sanitize my hands even more.  Please call Professional Choice Insurance today for your free California Insurance quote.  Check us out on facebook as well and we would love your feedback and perhaps recommendations that you would perhaps like to offer.