Posted: February 8th, 2011 - 7:32pm
Source: Niagara Falls Review

A motion-activated voice message now greets visitors, doctors and staff to Greater Niagara General Hospital, asking them to clean their hands when they enter the main entrance and other areas of the building.
"One of the challenges we're always finding is how do we sustain our compliance to hand hygiene?" said Frank Demizio, the Niagara Health System's corporate head for infection prevention.
"One of the strategies that we're looking at is something different because when people get used to a routine sometimes they may not follow it on a regular basis."
New kiosk displays with alcohol-hand dispensers have been set up at Niagara-area hospitals. They're in 19 "high-traffic" locations throughout GNGH, particularly entrances and near patient-care areas. Some dispensers are motion-activated, meaning people don't have to touch it. Messages reinforcing the importance of hand washing are put in poster holders on the displays.
The kiosk displays have ledges for people to put their purses, bags and other items to free up their hands so they can clean them.
The voice-activated initiative is a pilot at GNGH. It's expected to soon be unveiled at other NHS hospitals soon.