This was our second Semmelweis Talk: Hand Hygiene Excellence Award – A journey worth taking
“Learning from the Best” has been the motto for the 2nd Semmelweis Talk that took place on 28th of June 2022.
Representatives from Villach (Austria), Ms Elke Schindler, and Pula (Croatia), Ms Martina Močenić, shared insights into their journey as award winners.
HHEA Global Project Manager Thomas-Jörg Henning presented an overview of the award application process.
What does it take to participate? What are the hurdles and how can they be overcome? And if you are not ready yet: Where and from whom can you get support?
Elke Schindler gave us an overview of the practical tools in her facility. From self-made films that are visible on the house channel, to the hand hygiene scanner to the cooperation with the Red Noses Clown doctors – Hand hygiene is visible in the Hospital Villach through many impulses.
Martina Močenić, who is part of the infection control team, talked about the struggle of moving to a new hospital during the Covid 19 pandemic. She also gave insights into the connection between hand hygiene and gloves and how this impacted the monitoring of the data.
In the second SemmelweisTalk, various technical tools and different prevention programs were presented, some of them are being used by the award winners.
In the following discussion, our speakers talked about their passion, the team culture and the dichotomy between the joy and the obligation of setting a hand hygiene program.
Focusing on how important a positive role model can be in this context, Schindler compared the issue to parents and children.
Henning explained that some hospitals were among the finalists, highlighting the advantages they had from participating, even though they did not win, as well as why it makes sense to participate again in the following years.
With the help of the honest self-assessment system when registering for the award, it becomes possible to assess the status quo of a hospital in terms of hand hygiene and to initiate improvements with the support of experts.
Močenić elaborated on how leadership and changing processes are intertwined as well as how much teamwork and effort is involved in taking a team from hand washing to hand scrubbing.
It doesn’t take a big budget to participate in the HHEA – all you need is passion, good communication, a dedicated team and creative solutions. So, are you ready for the challenge?
If you are not quite sure yet, the answers to these questions and many other interesting statements can be found in our video about the second Semmelweis Talk.
Our special thanks go above all to our contributors:
– Bernhard Küenburg (President of the Semmelweis)
– Elke Schindler (Medical Director of Hospital Villach Austria)
– Martina Močenić (Pula Hospital Croatia)
– Thomas-Jörg Hennig (B.Braun)
Join our third Semmelweis Talk and learn more about Surveillance of Healthcare – Associated Infections ( HAI) as a monitoring tool to promote Infection prevention and control ( IPC)
We are already preparing for the third Semmelweis Talk and would be happy if you also participate and register here.
