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Breakthrough New Ergonomic Hand Sanitizer to be Introduced to Nation's Top Hospital Infection Fighters

Thu, 07 Apr 2005, 15:42:00 EDT

Edited by Christopher Simmons

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- The nation's top hospital infection fighters will be getting a look at a new breakthrough ergonomic hand sanitizer that holds the promise of preventing 20,000 to 50,000 U.S. deaths each year. Sprixx is an alcohol hand sanitizer dispenser that you wear, use on-the-go, and is ergonomically designed to become a second-nature habit in use.



Caption: Sprixx, Breakthrough New Ergonomic Hand Sanitizer.

The benefits have huge ramifications for a troubled health care system including lower infection rates, cost savings, time saving for each health care worker of around 30 min. per shift, and the ability for doctors and nurses to sanitize their hands without leaving their workflow or interrupting their focus.

The nation's epidemiologists will be meeting in Los Angeles to explore solutions to healthcare acquired infections such as Sprixx. Southern California will be playing host to The Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of American (SHEA) at the Westin Century Plaza Hotel on April 9 through 12, 2005. As well as demonstrating the new product, Sprixx will be conducting a survey asking the epidemiologists to answer questions about the effectiveness of alcohol wall mount dispensers, their support of sanitizer pocket bottles, and their opinion about the potential for ergonomic hand sanitizers that are worn.

The conference comes at a time when area and national stories cry for new infection control, cost saving, and staff extending solutions for a health system under siege. "We believe Sprixx can have a far reaching impact on our health system," explains Sprixx owner Dr. Rodney F. Ogrin. "We have a tool that brings significant relief to impending issues such as hospital acquired infections, MRSA outbreaks, other antibiotic resistant super-bugs, emergency room closings, nursing shortages, the mandatory infection reporting controversy, and the avian flu threat."

Sprixx addresses a massive problem. Healthcare acquired infections infect 2.2 million Americans each year resulting in 103,000 deaths annually. That's more than die from AIDS, breast cancer, and automobile accidents combined! The economic burden is over $5.2 billion. It is the 4th leading cause of death!

Hand hygiene compliance by healthcare workers rarely exceeds 40% despite the fact that the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) always lists hand hygiene as the number one preventive measure against the spread of healthcare acquired infections. The CDC sites studies that prove nurses can A) wash their hands every time they should, OR B) do their jobs, but NOT C) both.

The CDC came out with new hand hygiene guidelines to better address the problem in Oct. of 2002. The focus of their recommendations were to make hand hygiene more accessible and for the hospitals to commit to finding solutions. They made a strong recommendation for the use of alcohol hand sanitizers when hands are not visibly soiled. As a result of these recommendations wall mount alcohol hand rub dispensers have gone up in hospitals across the country. Further, Joint Commission (JCAHO), the organization that accredits most U.S. hospitals, adopted the CDC hand hygiene guidelines as Patient Safety Goal 7 which requires hospitals to adhere to the guidelines. Those guidelines also call for health care workers to carry pocket bottles of hand sanitizer. Few hospitals have yet to report improved hand hygiene compliance or infection rates using wall mount dispensers alone.

Unlike wall mount alcohol hand sanitizer dispensers, Sprixx makes it possible for doctors and nurses to never have to skip even the smallest hand hygiene opportunity. When you have to cross the room to use a wall dispenser, small hand hygiene opportunities such as rubbing your ear or pulling up a chair tend to be ignored out of practicality. Studies show that infections are most likely spread when health care workers are at their busiest. Sprixx is a breakthrough because it becomes a second-nature habit on-the-go. Wall mounts have been going up in hospitals across the country for years now but have not proved to make significant improvements in infection rates. The key was identified by the CDC - accessibility is paramount and nothing is more accessible than Sprixx.

Sprixx is the perfect complement to the new JCAHO Speak Up Program as it is a visible symbol of hand hygiene excellence for patients to see. The JCAHO program encourages patients to ask their health care workers about hand hygiene and to speak up if they don't see them sanitizing their hands.


Stories related to Sprixx and the SHEA conference include:

* MRSA Outbreaks - this new superbug has been breading in area jails and hospitals and has been making it into the general population at an alarming rate. Keeping MRSA out of hospitals and getting MRSA out of the hospital once in is a major challenge made much easier by Sprixx. See the recent story in the Los Angeles Times: Feb 15, 2005. - Staph Cases an 'Emerging Epidemic'.

* Emerging Antibiotic Resistant Pathogens - MRSA is not alone i.e. VRE. Sprixx prevents the spread of these infections and does not contribute to the problem as antibacterial soaps do. For more information and lots of links visit the FDA Antibiotic Resistance page.

* Emergency Room Closings - ten LA County trauma centers have closed since 1980. Statewide, 23 emergency rooms have close since 2000, six of them from LA County. Budgets and infections play a big role - Sprixx could make the difference LA Times January 29, 2005 story "State Panel Will Study Hospital Closures"

* Mandatory Reporting of Infections - A recent Wall Street Journal:@ article best explores this national issue. In California, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed bill SB 1487 that was backed by area infection control organizations. Those hospital infection statistics would improve greatly given the use of Sprixx. A Consumer Union article can be found at http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/core_health_care/001407.html. See the related Wall Street Journal story. Find out more about the Consumer Union national campaign page - and more information can be found on the APIC web page.

* Avian Flu & SARS Pandemics - emerging new pathogens are threatening to spread globally. The Avian Flue is threatening to become a global outbreak - see the article WHO: Bird flu pandemic is imminent. Consider how the 1918 Influenza Pandemic killed over 25 million people in three months; after only two months there was virtually nowhere in the world one could be safe from the virus - and that was before air travel. Hospitals without Sprixx in their ER are just leaving their front door open - remember Toronto ERs during the SARS scare! Learn more information on the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

* Nursing Shortage - nurse ratio to patients has been in the news including a torpedo bill by Gov. Schwarzenegger. Each nurse stands to save 30-60 minutes per shift using Sprixx - enough to significantly help the nursing shortage problem. Los Angeles Times: Mar 4, 2005. - Judge Backs Nurses Over Staffing; Schwarzenegger lacked the authority to override a new law on patient ratios in hospitals, the court declares in a tentative ruling.

* Speak Up Program - Joint Commission, the organization that accredits most U.S. hospitals, launched a national campaign to fight hospital infections and errors. Sprixx is a visible symbol of hand hygiene excellence that patients can see in use. Learn more about the Joint Commission (JCAHO) Speak Up Program. Review the program's Infection Control Brochure. See the U.S. Newswire release.


To learn more about The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the SHEA National Conference visit www.shea-online.org. Come see the Sprixx exhibit at booth 114.

Sprixx is a DBA of Harbor Medical, Inc., of Santa Barbara, CA. For more information on Sprixx, phone 866-477-7499, visit the special press page at http://www.sprixx.com/press, or email rcagle @ life-like.com.

WEBSITE: http://www.sprixx.com

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