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March 25,
2005
The
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s (CDC) Healthcare Infection
Control Practices Advisory Committee
published the
Guideline for Hand Hygiene in
Health-Care Settings
in October 2002 in which alcohol
hand-rubs were recommended for use in
healthcare facilities. At that time
existing national fire codes as set by
the National Fire Protection Association
(NFPA) permitted hand-rub dispensers in
patient rooms, but prohibited their
installation in egress or exit
corridors.
On March
25, 2005, the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an
interim final rule adopting an amendment
by the NFPA allowing for the
installation of alcohol hand-rub
dispensers in egress corridors. (Note:
Local or state fire code requirements
may differ from the national codes;
therefore, facilities are strongly urged
to determine requirements for their
particular locale.) For additional
information see the
Federal Register Notice PDF.
Alcohol
hand rubs are an important strategy for
improving hand-hygiene practices by
healthcare personnel, reducing
healthcare-associated infections, and
improving overall patient safety. CMS’s
new interim rule is an important step in
improving access to alcohol hand-rub
dispensers in healthcare settings.
Healthcare facilities should continue to
promote hand hygiene to prevent
transmission of healthcare-associated
infectons. |
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