As the importance of hand hygiene has grown during the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing a complete hand hygiene program in your facility can help provide peace of mind and reduce the spread of germs. The Symmetry Behavior Modification System (SBMS) is part of what makes the Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program unique. While other hand hygiene lines simply provide products, Symmetry works to develop a complete program that inspires better hand hygiene practices. Behavioral science has been key to developing tools any facility can use to encourage users to keep their hands clean.

Many major manufacturers employ people with PhDs in Behavioral Science to identify and capitalize on various stimuli that influence our behavior and, ultimately, lead us to purchasing their products. Behavioral science is behind the strategic placement of candy in checkout lanes at stores. Children can easily spot and grab candy while waiting for their parents to checkout. Once a candy bar is in a child’s hands, the likelihood that it will be purchased goes up significantly.

Symmetry worked with Dr. Adam Alter to discover ways behavioral science could be used to promote better hand hygiene. Dr. Alter has a PhD in Behavioral Science and is the New York Times best-selling author of Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces that Shape How We Think, Feel, and Behave. Together, Symmetry and Dr. Alter created the Symmetry Behavior Modification System.

Unlike negative motivators, SBMS is based on six key tenets that offer a positive approach designed to inspire. Symmetry’s six tenets are benevolence, responsibility, accountability, variation, emotion, and direction. Each tenet offers a unique way to drive compliance.

Symmetry’s Behavior Modification tools include variety in dispensers. Symmetry dispensers come in various colors and can even be customized with your facility’s logo and colors. Dispensers can also be fitted with Visual Lighting Cues (VLCS). VLCS flash periodically to draw attention to dispensers and encourage an immediate hand hygiene event.

In addition to attention-drawing dispensers, Symmetry provides Behavior Modification placards. These cards sit atop dispensers and are customized with inspiring messages like, “Support Healthy Hands. It Only Takes 20 Seconds.” They are designed to be placed on dispensers throughout a facility to provide variation. The more variation in dispensers, the more likely it is that a user will notice an opportunity to sanitize or wash hands.

Finally, Symmetry provides floor decals in the shape of Happy Feet Biscuit Paws (a reference to the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program’s mascot Biscuit, the Paw Washing Dog), or custom options. Floor decals can be used to guide users towards dispensers and drive hand hygiene practices.

These added features can mean the difference between an effective hand hygiene program and an average hand hygiene program. The impact of COVID-19 has driven a need for hand hygiene products, but providing high quality products is just part of improving hand hygiene practices in any facility. Symmetry takes their program one step further by providing behavior modification tools to encourage users to take advantage of the high-quality hand hygiene products they have available to them. To find out how Symmetry can customize their Behavior Modification System to fit your facility, contact your local Buckeye representative.

Dry skin is an unfortunate side-effect of the winter months. Once the heat is turned on indoors, your skin begins to dry out. For healthcare facilities, this issue is only magnified. Frequent handwashing and hand sanitizing can cause the skin on healthcare workers’ hands to dry out regardless of the season. During the winter months when skin is prone to flaking, finding a solution for those workers who frequently wash their hands is important.

The Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program provides products that are gentle on healthcare workers’ skin without compromising performance. They reduce common disease-causing bacteria with comprehensive product testing data. When Symmetry products are tested against competitive hand hygiene products in a Symmetry Challenge, respondents overwhelmingly prefer Symmetry.

Symmetry hand hygiene products include hand washes and hand sanitizers. Choose between scented and unscented options or select one of Symmetry’s Green Seal^™ certified hand hygiene products. Because Symmetry is focused on the comfort of its users, Symmetry also provides Moisturizing Hand Lotion to moisturize, condition, and alleviate dry hands.

Beyond hand hygiene products, washing hands with warm water instead of hot water can also help protect the skin from dryness. Both the CDC and World Health Organization (WHO) advocate using warm water instead of hot water in their hand hygiene guidelines to protect skin. WHO also recommends patting hands drying rather than rubbing to help prevent cracking.

No matter the season, hand hygiene is important in healthcare facilities and beyond. For schools, retail facilities and more, looking for gentle hand hygiene products, contact your local Buckeye representative.

The 5 Moments of Hand Hygiene approach defines key moments when healthcare workers should perform hand hygiene. Washing or sanitizing hands before or after these moments helps protect the patient, workers, and the healthcare environment against the spread of germs.

5 Moments of Hand Hygiene

These moments often occur when a healthcare worker is in direct contact with a patient. For hand hygiene needs during patient contact, the Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program provides Point of Care tools. Point of Care tools are strategically placed to provide healthcare workers with hand hygiene options while caring for a patient. They can help reduce the spread of germs by tackling hand hygiene in areas that pose the highest risks.

“The aim of point of care availability is to provide access to hand hygiene products in the ‘patient zone’ – the location where the patient and healthcare personnel and environment intersect.” APIC Implementation Guide: Guide to Hand Hygiene Programs for Infection Prevention

Symmetry Point of Care items include:

*Suction Cups contain Ionpure, an antimicrobial agent approved by the FDA, EPA, and NSF.

In combination with other key features of the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program like education and awareness tools and behavior modification tools, Symmetry Point of Care tools provide a reminder to healthcare workers about the importance of hand hygiene during key moments. Symmetry’s goal is to provide your facility with all the tools needed to help reduce the spread of germs.

Contact your local representative to find out more about the program and to see how you can improve point of care hand hygiene in your facility.

Studies in behavioral science have shown that using colors, mirrors, floor decals, and other stimuli can influence human behavior. In grocery stores, manufacturers pay retailers to merchandise their products in strategic locations to increase the likelihood that those products will be purchased. Candy bars are strategically placed at the eye level of children to increase the likelihood of purchase. Some manufacturers will provide stores with floor decals that lead to their products.

Many manufacturers employ people with PhDs in Behavioral Science to identify the best way to stimulate a potential customer into making a purchase. The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program worked with Behavioral Scientist, Dr. Adam Alter, to find out how to increase hand hygiene practices with behavioral science.

Together, Dr. Alter and Symmetry came up with several behavior modification tools based on the six key tenets of benevolence, accountability, responsibility, variation, emotion, and direction. These include dispenser colors, placards, visual lighting cues, and floor decals that can be used in a variety of facilities. The Symmetry placards include messages or mirrors to encourage an immediate response. They are placed directly above a dispenser and can be rotated periodically. Symmetry dispensers can also be fitted with visual lighting cues. These flashing lights are designed to draw attention to dispensers. Floor decals offered by Symmetry can subtly direct individuals to dispensers.

All of these tools are designed to increase proper hand hygiene practices in your facility. They serve as reminders but are not intended to be used for all dispensers. The best way to implement Symmetry behavior modification system is to rotate the tools throughout the facility. This creates variation, changes sight-lines, and continues to capture attention.

The Symmetry Behavior Modification System is just one added benefit of the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program. Symmetry offers a complete line of hand hygiene products including hand sanitizers and hand washes. Symmetry dispensers are reliable with large sight windows for checking product levels. The program comes with education and awareness tools and everything your facility needs to improve hand hygiene practices.

Contact your local Buckeye representative to find out more about the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program and the Behavior Modification System.

Buckeye’s Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program is more than just its products. Symmetry offers added benefits like education and awareness tools, behavior modification tools, and point of care tools. Symmetry has many customizable features designed to help your facility build healthy hand hygiene practices.

However, the foundation of the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program lies in its products. Symmetry believes that the key to a good hand hygiene program is manufacturing products that people want to use in a reliable dispensing system. That’s why Symmetry products clean hands without leaving sticky residue behind. Symmetry dispensers don’t drip and have large sight windows for checking product levels.

The best way for the people in your facility to see Symmetry’s products and dispensers is through a Symmetry Challenge. A Symmetry Challenge allows staff members to test Symmetry products and compare them to their current hand hygiene products. Recently a hospital in Cleveland, OH was looking for new hand hygiene products. They chose to conduct a Symmetry Hand Hygiene Challenge in their facility. Staff members had been complaining about their hand hygiene products drying out their hands. With the ability to compare Symmetry to the products they had been using, it was immediately clear that Symmetry products were gentler on their hands. Of the 117 participants, 108 chose Symmetry over their previous products.

A Symmetry Challenge allows you to compare products and dispensers. When participants have the chance to compare Symmetry to other programs, they overwhelmingly choose Symmetry. Beyond comfort, Symmetry products are high quality and low cost. Symmetry hand sanitizers reduce common disease-causing bacteria.

Encouraging proper hand hygiene starts with providing products people want to use. The Symmetry Challenge is the simplest way to evaluate hand hygiene products and begin improving proper hand hygiene practices in your facility. Contact your local Buckeye representative to schedule a Symmetry Challenge today.

This week is International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW). The goal of IIPW is to raise awareness of the role infection prevention plays in improving patient safety.

The theme for this year’s IIPW is Protecting Patients Everywhere. With a theme this broad, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control (APIC) is promoting topics ranging from the use of antibiotics to proper hand hygiene. Protecting Patients Everywhere is about protecting patients and others through the continuum of care.

The Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program can help you improve infection prevention in your facility. Following proper hand hygiene steps is one of the best ways to help improve patient well-being. Symmetry has all of the hand hygiene tools you’ll need to improve hand hygiene practices in your facility.

Symmetry products reduce common disease-causing bacteria, making them a reliable choice for facilities looking to stop the spread of disease. More than that, Symmetry products are gentle on your hands.

However, having the proper products available in your facility isn’t enough. This is why the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program comes with tools to help motivate people to keep their hands clean. Its education and awareness tools include things like posters and wall charts, designed to explain the “How” and “Why” of proper hand hygiene. Symmetry also utilizes behavioral science to create unique placards and signs with messages designed to inspire and maximize hand hygiene practices.

For IIPW, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) is focusing on infection prevention throughout the continuum of care. Symmetry provides Point of Care tools for healthcare facility workers to use throughout care for a patient. Suction cups, brackets, and lanyards make it possible to access hand sanitizer while workers are in contact with patients and are at the highest risk of spreading germs.

The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program is just one of many ways your facility can work to reduce the spread of germs. International Infection Prevention Week happens every third week of October, but infection prevention is a year-round job. Check out all of the tools APIC provides to keep you informed about infection prevention on their website.

 

Last year the spread of the flu reached epidemic levels across the United States. With flu season upon us, it’s important to remember the best ways to keep the flu at bay. The most effective way to prevent the flu is to get the flu vaccine. The CDC is recommending individuals get vaccinated by the end of October.

There are other important ways to prevent the spread of the flu. Because the flu is spread through contact, the CDC also recommends washing hands often. The CDC provides tips for when and how to wash your hands to help protect the health of those around you here.

In your facility, implementing a complete hand hygiene program can help reduce the spread of germs. The Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program has all the tools needed to tackle the flu in any facility. First and foremost, Symmetry products reduce common disease-causing bacteria. All Symmetry products clean your hands without drying them out or leaving behind a sticky residue.

Additionally, encouraging people in your facility to practice proper hand hygiene is one of the most important steps in reducing the spread of the flu and other germs. Symmetry has education and awareness tools like posters, wall charts, and handwashing videos designed to demonstrate and explain the importance of proper hand hygiene.

The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program also implements behavioral science with the Symmetry Behavior Modification System (SBMS). These tools help drive immediate hand hygiene practices, encouraging people to wash or sanitize their hands with eye-catching placards and signs. Both SBMS and education and awareness tools offered by Symmetry can be customized for any facility. Use your facility logo, colors, or catchphrase to help inspire proper hand hygiene.

The flu can spread fast, but Symmetry hand hygiene products and tools can help keep the well-being of the people in your facility in mind. Contact your local Buckeye representative to find out more about Symmetry and fighting the flu.

Next week Symmetry^® representatives will gather with nearly 5,000 healthcare professionals at the APIC (Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology) 2018 Annual Conference in Minneapolis, MN. With a goal of infection prevention, APIC will present opportunities to learn about the latest technologies and best practices for healthcare professionals. From June 13-15, APIC will host more than 100 education sessions, making it one of the most comprehensive infection prevention conferences in the world.

Learn about the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program in Booth #1221 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Representatives will be there to discuss the importance of hand hygiene in infection prevention, especially at point of care. Symmetry’s innovative technologies can improve hand hygiene in your facility and reduce the spread of germs. Here are a few topics they will be discussing:

Point of Care and National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) 07.01.01

Recently the Joint Commission stated that they would issue a Requirement for Improvement for any observation of individual failure to preform hand hygiene in the course of direct patient care. Symmetry’s Point of Care tools are there for the moments when healthcare workers are in contact with patients and are at high risk of spreading germs. Symmetry offers various 550 and 50 ml options for tray tables, bed rales, supply carts, and more to help individual caretakers to remember to sanitize and wash their hands.

Proven Clinical Acceptance

When asked to compare Symmetry products to their current hand hygiene products, 97% of Symmetry Challenge Respondents chose Symmetry. Symmetry hand washes and hand sanitizers clean hands leaving no sticky residue behind.

Behavior Modification

Symmetry utilizes behavioral science to drive hand hygiene practices. Beyond having products that are gentle on hands, Symmetry uses signs and placards with messages designed to inspire and maximize hand hygiene practices.

Symmetry Products are Triclosan-Free

Because the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finalized a rule that bans the marketing of over-the-counter (OTC) healthcare antiseptic products containing triclosan, some healthcare facilities are looking for safer, alternative options. All Symmetry products are triclosan-free.

Next week, learn about each of these features and more. Meet with a Symmetry representative at APIC and get to know the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program.

 

On May 5th, the World Health Organization (WHO) is celebrating World Hand Hygiene Day. This year, their goal is to prevent sepsis in healthcare. Sepsis is a life-threatening organ disfunction that can be a result of infection. According to WHO, “Sepsis is estimated to affect more than 30 million patients every year worldwide.” The CDC reports that one in three patients who die in a hospital have sepsis.

WHO’s calls to action for May 5th, 2018 include:

Sepsis is not the only complication that can result from infection. The best way to counteract these complications is to stop the spread of infection. On their website, WHO has a variety of resources and tools for anyone looking to understand or promote hand hygiene awareness.

The best way to prevent the spread of healthcare associated infections, HAIs, is to improve hand hygiene practices. In healthcare facilities, healthy hand hygiene practices can sometimes be neglected or avoided if hand sanitizers dry out the skin or staff members are not constantly reminded.

The best way to ensure both patients and staff are washing and sanitizing their hands regularly is with a complete hand hygiene program. The Symmetry® Hand Hygiene Program has a variety of hand washes and sanitizers that reduce common disease-causing bacteria. Symmetry dispensers have large sight windows to check product levels, and Symmetry hand hygiene products are packaged in no-drip bags.

Symmetry also has important added benefits. Having access to hand hygiene products is often not enough to encourage the people in your facility to wash their hands. Symmetry has customizable education and awareness tools, designed to maximize hand hygiene practices in your facility. These include wall charts, posters, product literature, and hand washing videos. The Symmetry program incorporates behavioral science into placards and signs to inspire people to wash or sanitize their hands.

Careful attention to hand hygiene in healthcare facilities can improve hand hygiene compliance. Contact your local Symmetry representative to find out more about how Symmetry can improve hand hygiene compliance in your facility.

Absenteeism can impact student learning and achievement. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that more than two-thirds of U.S. students 5-17 years old missed school over a one-year period due to illness or injury.

The Symmetry^® Hand Hygiene Program fights absenteeism by encouraging students to understand the importance of hand hygiene. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO), hand hygiene is one of the most important steps in reducing the spread of germs. Educating students on hand hygiene with Symmetry can help students fight the spread of germs.

The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program offers superior hand washes and hand sanitizers alongside tools that encourage students to wash their hands. These tools include product literature, handwashing videos and customizable posters, wall charts, and placards.

Symmetry also offers Hand Hygiene Assemblies as a fun way to engage pre-k to 3rd grade students in hand hygiene. Symmetry Hand Hygiene Assemblies assist teachers in educating their students about good hand hygiene practices. They feature Biscuit the Paw-Washing Dog, Symmetry’s hand hygiene mascot as well as a fun, interactive video. Students learn eye-opening information about germs followed by proper handwashing and hand sanitizing techniques.

When assemblies conclude, students walk away with an I Wash My Hands sticker and a better understanding of when and how to wash their hands. When asked about the effect Symmetry Hand Hygiene Assemblies had on his school, one Elementary School Environmental Health Manager said, “Getting our younger students started early, thinking about washing their hands and fighting the spread of germs will eventually turn into awesome daily habits that will be hard to break.” The Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program helps students form healthy habits that can last a lifetime.

To find out how to schedule a Symmetry Hand Hygiene Assembly at your school or to learn more about the Symmetry Hand Hygiene Program, contact your local Buckeye representative.