PORT ANGELES — Peninsula College nursing students will demonstrate proper handwashing and hand-sanitizing techniques in observance of World Handwashing Day on Oct. 15.
The students will staff an education and handwashing station next to the Olympic Medical Center cafeteria at 939 Caroline St. from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
They will provide information from their classroom experiences, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Their campaign is called “Seconds of Safety” because it takes only a few seconds to perform proper hand-sanitizing, the college said.
Nursing students who are involved in the campaign include Stefanie Carroll, Ryan Dill, Stacy Forshaw, Melissa Hamilton, Megan Larrechea and Stephanie Speicher. Nursing faculty Bonnie Rathod is their adviser.
Reduce micro-organism
“Hand hygiene is one of the simplest methods to reduce the transmission of harmful micro-organisms, yet it is very easy to forget,” Rathod said.
“In class, we were taught the importance of this, and in the clinical setting, we practice it over and over,” Speicher said.
“The response from our patients when we teach them about the importance of hand hygiene is so positive, and we are taking our message further.”
Dill added that he and his fellow nursing students hope to educate people about the importance of hand hygiene and “offer some reminder strategies to help people remember to do it often, especially as flu season approaches.”
In September, the students visited OMC sites in both Port Angeles and Sequim, setting up handwashing and information stations, and took their campaign to the Clallam County Fair in August.
They are in the process of organizing data they collected from a hand-hygiene survey they conducted at the fair.
Other presentations are scheduled throughout the fall quarter at selected venues, including assisted-living sites, health care centers, area schools and the Peninsula College Pirate Union Building.
The Peninsula College Foundation has provided funding to purchase the educational materials the students distribute.
Any organizations interested in having Peninsula College nursing students visit and provide proper handwashing and hand-sanitizing demonstrations and information can email Rathod at brathod@pencol.edu.
