PROOF IS IN THE PUDDING St. Joseph’s Health Centre makes infection prevention fun with IPAC Olympics By Amber Daugherty
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t’s not everyday that Dianagris Balakrishnan finds herself covered in pudding at work. But one day last summer, she had so much of it on her personal protective equipment (PPE) gown and gloves that it was dripping onto the floor. The pudding had been spread by Cameron Thomas, an infection prevention practitioner, as part of an education session called the IPAC Olympics. Balakrishnan’s task was to remove the gown and gloves without getting any pudding on her skin or clothes underneath. “It was gross,” says the registered practical nurse, laughing. “But it was a good reminder that there’s a lot of other stuff we could have on us when we leave a patient’s room.” The game was meant to mimic the potential for transmission of all types of bacteria by nurses and other healthcare providers. Walking in and out of different patients’ spaces means providers may be taking more than they’d like when they leave, potentially
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spreading something to other areas of the unit, patients or themselves. This can be especially dangerous for those with a weakened immune system and during high volume times like flu season. The PPE and pudding game was just one of four that was brought to the Morrow wing on the fourth floor of St. Joseph’s Health Centre to help engage staff and visually show the significance of proper infection prevention practices. “Working in healthcare means you get the same information over and over again but the message gets lost because it’s always the same — clean your hands, clean shared equipment,” says the unit’s educator, Rosalyn Espiritu. “I heard other hospitals had tried this interactive way of providing education and thought it would be impactful here because it’s new and exciting. People came over curious about why there was pudding on the table.” A common issue in healthcare is people use gloves for extended periods of time,
often instead of regular hand hygiene. So, in another game, staff members put gloves on and had Glo Germ powder — a visual tool used in cleaning education that shows up only under ultraviolet (UV) light — sprinkled on top. They rubbed their hands together to mimic the friction of providing care and then had to remove the gloves without contaminating themselves. Thomas then used a UV light to see if any powder remained. “When I took the gloves off, I could still see some spots on my arms,” says Vina Magno, a registered nurse on the unit. “It’s so scary because normally we can’t see what’s there.” Many staff members also had the powder on their fingers and hands because of defects in the gloves. “People have a mistaken idea that gloves are impermeable and that’s why they don’t need to be as good about hand hygiene when wearing them,” says Thomas. “Staff were surprised to see powder on their hands
