Building a Brighter Future for Hand Hygiene: Insights from a Visionary Leader

Despite its recognized importance, hand hygiene remains a significant challenge for most healthcare facilities, with relatively little improvement over the decades. The current indicator-based standards for gathering hand hygiene observations require significant time and resources, leaving little capacity to invest in other crucial aspects of hand hygiene programs. Many infection preventionists are overwhelmed by increasing responsibilities and decreasing support. Given the present situation, advancing hand hygiene programs will require determination, resilience, creativity, a clear vision, and leadership support.

Emily Landon, M.D., is a pioneer in hand hygiene and has built a robust, successful, multifaceted hand hygiene program over the past decade, including the successful launch of a house-wide automated hand hygiene monitoring system. As a visionary who thinks creatively, she isn’t afraid to experiment with new ideas to promote progress.

During this interactive breakfast, Dr. Landon will detail the necessary steps to enhance hand hygiene and share innovative and provocative ideas for potential future directions. As one of the lead authors of the SHEA/IDSA/APIC 2022 Hand Hygiene Compendium Update, she will share some of the key findings and recommendations. Additionally, Dr. Landon will discuss recent publications that have the potential to bridge the gap between the current and desired future state. Known for her positive energy and tenacious commitment to hand hygiene, Dr. Landon will inspire a renewed sense of hope and possibility.