By Healthcare Facilities Today

A new initiative, called OneTogether: The Power of Small Actions, aims to reduce the incidence of healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs) by increasing awareness of how the small, individual actions of every healthcare worker can have an influence on patient health and safety, according to an article on the Infection Control Today website.

Susan Morabit, infection preventionist at WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta, Ga., put the OneTogether principles to work at her facility.

“The whole concept is so simple and yet so powerful. It’s basically about recognizing that even small actions can make a huge difference to patient well-being,” she said in the article.

One of the first tactics in the OneTogether program is a set of wallet-sized thank you cards tailored for specific job functions, from sterile processing to housekeeping. These cards recognize the important contributions that employees make every day to help prevent HAIs. 

“I like to hand out the cards the moment I catch someone in the act of doing the right thing, because it has so much more impact. It only takes a few seconds to use hand sanitizer, and only a few seconds to thank someone for doing it. But those few seconds can really help that person feel they’re making difference in our patients’ lives,” Morabit said in the article.

According to the article, OneTogether is helping to change the perceptions of employees not directly involved in patient care. 

Mike Lamoreaux, manager of environmental services at the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center in Provo, Utah, said the idea that environmental services is a partner in infection prevention is a relatively new one. 

“Housekeeping work is still widely undervalued. I want to change the culture so our staff are considered to be healthcare workers – not a maid service. Because without us, without a clean environment, the nurses and doctors couldn’t accomplish the things they do,” he said in the article.

Read the article.