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No soap and water? Hospital says to gel

Barbara Rivera Holmes

ALBANY — "Gel In. Gel Out."

One of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital's latest campaigns pushes the use of antibacterial hand gel by physicians, patients and visitors as a way to minimize the spread of germs.

"This is not to replace the simple function of washing your hands," said Dr. Doug Patten, senior vice president for medical affairs at Phoebe. "But the gel is a reasonable compromise – (it kills) 99.9 percent of (germs) in 15 seconds."

"This very simple technique actually saves lives," reads promotional material for the hand hygiene initiative, which last week earned Phoebe's marketing department one of three gold Target Awards from the Georgia Hospital Association's Georgia Society for Health Care Marketing and Public Relations.

The hospital's patient rooms have had hand sanitizer for some time, said Aditi Vance, director of quality improvement at Phoebe. But since September, the hospital has invested in placing hand sanitizer dispensers throughout the facility. To date, she said, there are more than 1,000 dispensers at Phoebe, which spends about $500 per month on sanitizing gel.

"We want to see that continue to grow," said Vance.

Patten said he hopes the community will jump on the practice.

"Everything we say in here (within the Phoebe campus)," he said, "can translate into other environments as well."

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