Enforce Hand Washing

Savings: NA

The Joint Commission, which accredits health-care providers, says the failure by hospital staffers to wash their hands leads to infections that cost $4 billion to $29 billion annually to treat. Increasing the hand-washing rate by one percentage point saves a hospital $39,000 per year, according to a study by Duke University School of Medicine. In 2005, Novant Health trained nurses in its hospitals in North Carolina to remind employees, via messages on yard signs, screen savers, and bathroom mirrors, to wash their hands. Hand hygiene compliance improved to 99% in 2008 from 45% in 2005, while hospital-acquired staph infections fell by 63%.