Are Train Station Bathrooms Cleaner than Hospital Bathrooms?

A survey performed by MicrobeWorld, an educational branch of the American Society for Microbiology, shows that bathroom users in large public places such as Grand Central Station in New York City and Turner Field in Atlanta, may be more likely to wash their hands than those working in hospitals.

Turner Field scored the lowest out of all the public locations, with 65 percent of men washing their hands after using the bathroom. This is high compared to a study performed by McGuckin Methods International, which found that less than 50 percent of bathroom visitors in ICU and non-ICU units complied with baseline hand washing guidelines.

Organizations such as The Joint Commission have set hand hygiene goals for hospitals and have reported success in increasing compliance. Hospitals need to emphasize the importance of proper hand washing. This simple practice can help drastically cut the number of hospital-acquired infections, which are on the rise in facilities across the country.


Source: thehealthcareblog.com
http://www.thehealthcareblog.com/the_health_care_blog/2010/09/nyc-train-station-bathroom-yields-cleaner-hands-than-hospitals.html