

Clean Hands Count for Safe Healthcare

Logo of hand: Clean Hands Count


What’s The Problem?


The Clean Hands Count Campaign

CDC’s Clean Hands Count campaign aims to improve healthcare provider adherence to hand hygiene recommendations, address myths and misperceptions about hand hygiene, and empower patients to play a role in their care by asking or reminding healthcare providers to clean their hands.

  • Everyone should know the truth about hand hygiene and alcohol-based hand sanitizer:
  • Hand hygiene should be a topic of conversation between healthcare providers and patients. Healthcare providers can explain how and why they clean their hands before, after, and sometimes during patient care, and let patients know it’s ok to ask about hand hygiene.
  • Patients and their visitors can protect themselves by cleaning their own hands often.

What Can Patients Do?

Clean your own hands and ask your visitors to clean theirs too.

Infographic: Protect yourself by cleaning your hands often. Germs that cause serious infections are in healthcare facilities. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the preferred way to clean your hands. It kills the bad germs while the good germs quickly grow back on your skin.

What Can Healthcare Providers Do?

Healthcare providers should clean their hands before and after every patient contact to protect themselves as well as their patients from infections.

Infographic: When using alcohol-based hand sanitizer, put product on hands and rub hands together. Cover all surfaces until hands feel dry. This should take around 20 seconds.


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