Dozens of health care workers — from doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists and others — touch patients in the hospitals and clinics every day. To protect patients from infection, we require that patient care workers thoroughly clean their hands before and after caring for each patient.

Hand hygiene means using either alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water, and using the proper washing techniques for the appropriate length of time.

At UCSF Medical Center and UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital San Francisco, a team of Infection Control staff, doctors, nurses, therapists, technicians, spiritual care staff, engineers and others created a program to ensure proper hand hygiene.