Hand Hygiene:
When, Why & How

Healthcare-associated infections affect millions of patients every year. The most common way these infections spread is through healthcare workers' hands.

As a Lakeland home health aide, you often work one-on-one with clients in their homes. Your hand hygiene is one of the most important clinical acts you perform — every single visit.

The World Health Organization defines five specific moments when hand hygiene must occur. These apply to every Lakeland team member — in every client home, every visit, every day.

• 1
  Before touching a client — any contact with skin, clothing, or their immediate environment
• 2
  Before a clean or aseptic procedure — wound care, injections, catheter care
• 3
  After body fluid exposure risk — contact with blood, secretions, or non-intact skin
• 4
  After touching a client — any contact with their body or clothing
• 5
  After touching client surroundings — bed rails, furniture, remote controls, doorknobs — even without direct client contact

Moment 5 applies after any contact with the client's surroundings

Both methods are effective — but knowing which to use and when is a critical decision. In some situations, hand sanitizer simply is not enough.

Choosing the right moment and the right method gets you most of the way there. But if your technique is incomplete, the cleaning won't be fully effective.