GOJO Supports Canadian Patient Safety Institute's Canadian Patient Safety Week

Healthcare Facilities To Join and Engage in Patient Safety Improvement from October 28-November 1

AKRON, Ohio, Oct. 28, 2013 /CNW/ - GOJO Industries, a leader in hand hygiene and skin health and inventors of PURELL® Hand Sanitizer, is sponsoring the Canadian Patient Safety Institute (CPSI) Initiative to raise awareness and enlist healthcare facilities across Canada to improve patient safety and quality and help spread the message to "Ask. Listen. Talk."

GOJO provided support for the Hands in Healthcare magazine, as well as hand hygiene educational hand hygiene posters, bookmarks and newsletter content for hospital registration packages to raise awareness of hand hygiene to reduce the spread of infections. CPSI is providing the information to more than 1500 healthcare facilities in Canada for use during patient safety week from October 28-November 1.

"Hand hygiene is one of the single most important steps a healthcare worker can do to reduce the spread of infection in hospitals," said Hugh MacLeod, CEO of CPSI. "I encourage patients and other healthcare workers to ask their care providers or colleagues to clean their hands. We know that clean hands save lives. Canadian Patient Safety Week is the ideal time for healthcare professionals, patients and their families to ASK questions, LISTEN carefully and TALK openly about hand hygiene as a measure of patient safety."

"We know through scientific research that the safety of healthcare workers and patients can be improved with effective hand hygiene," said David Mackay, vice president sales and marketing, healthcare markets. "Our job at GOJO is to work with hospitals and healthcare professionals to develop solutions that make handwashing and hand sanitizing solutions easily accessible and top of mind for every healthcare worker that comes into contact with a patient. GOJO has developed the SMARTLINK™ electronic compliance monitoring system, robust education and new transportable products to assist the healthcare professional in practicing good hand hygiene all with the goal to provide better patient outcomes with fewer hospital acquired infections."

The CPSI "STOP! Clean your hands – HOW TO HELP PREVENT HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS: A Patient and Family Guide," advises patients and visitors to clean their hands many times during the day, especially before and after touching a patient, before eating and after using the washroom or coughing. Studies have consistently demonstrated the importance of using PURELL® Instant Hand Sanitizer in healthcare settings where infection rates in long-term care facilities were reduced by 30%¹ and by 36% in a hospital setting.²

To learn more about the CPSI Canadian Patient Safety Institute, go to http://www.patientsafetyinstitute.ca/English/Pages/default.aspx or www.handhygiene.ca. For additional educational materials to utilize during Patient Safety Week, go to www.gojocanada.ca/education.

About GOJO

GOJO Industries, Inc. (www.gojo.com) is the inventor of PURELL® Instant Hand Sanitizer and the leading global producer and marketer of skin health and hygiene solutions for away-from-home settings. The broad GOJO product portfolio includes hand cleaning, handwashing, hand sanitizing and skin care formulas under the GOJO®, PURELL® and PROVON® brand names. GOJO formulations use the latest advances in the science of skin care and sustainability. PURELL® Advanced Hand Rub, is proven to kill Norovirus, E coli and Staph aureus and the only hand rub permitted for Professional Healthcare and Hospital use in accordance with current, higher efficacy standards set by Health Canada.³ GOJO is known for state-of-the-art dispensing technology, engineered with attention to design, sustainability and functionality. GOJO programs promote healthy behaviors for hand hygiene, skin care and compliance in critical environments. GOJO is a privately held corporation headquartered in Akron, with offices in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Japan and Brazil.

1. Am J Infect Control. June 2002 Volume 30.

2. Am J Infect Control. April 2003 Volume 31, Number 2.

3. PURELL Advanced Hand Rub gel formulation. Based on the 2009 Health Canada GUIDANCE DOCUMENT Human-Use Antiseptic Drugs, EN-182959. Murine norovirus was used as a surrogate for human norovirus as preferred by Health Canada.

SOURCE: GOJO Industries

Samantha Williams, Public Relations Director, GOJO Industries, Inc., 330-255-6397, [email protected]

http://www.gojo.com