Infection Prevention and Control Starts with Hand Hygiene

As we move into fall there is an increase in the risk of cold, flu, and COVID. We ask you to practice the Four (4) Moments of hand hygiene just as our team does to help protect yourself and the residents in the home. Please review the Public Health document below for more information. It is important to sanitize your hands on the way into the home and throughout your visit. We ask that you help your loved one to complete hand hygiene when in to visit, this helps to protect them.

Public Health Ontario states: The four moments of hand hygiene are key indicators of times when health care providers are to clean their hands when providing care or treatment to a patient/resident while working in a care environment. The document provides answers to some of the common questions related to each of the 4 Moments of Hand Hygiene. The target audience for this resource is anyone providing hand hygiene education.

The four moments include:

1. Moment 1: BEFORE first touching the patient/resident or their environment

2. Moment 2: BEFORE aseptic procedures

3. Moment 3: AFTER body fluid exposure risk

4. Moment 4: AFTER touching the patient/resident or their environment As part of the 4 Moments of Hand Hygiene, an assessment should be done to determine what is considered patient/resident environment and what is considered the health care environment.

Public Health Ontario Four Moments of Hand Hygiene Information Sheet