Ontario Hospital Association
200 Front Street West, Suite 2800
Toronto, Ontario, M5V 3L1
Tel: (416) 205-1345 Fax: (416) 205-1360
Visit our Web Site: http://www.oha.com
July 14, 2011
Toronto, ON – Hospitals have been working closely with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) and other infection control experts to respond to the recent C. Difficile outbreaks.
“Ontario hospitals take infection control extremely seriously, and do everything they can, with the resources they have to make patient safety their number one priority,” said Tom Closson, President and CEO of the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA). “We applaud the health care staff who are working tirelessly to control the spread of these infections.”
Earlier today, the MOHLTC provided the media with an update on the C. Difficile situation and outlined the resources available to hospitals. A media release outlining these resources can be viewed here.
Hand washing, along with other infection control measures, are extremely important to containing the spread of C. Difficile and other infectious diseases.
“Although hand washing is only one way to stop the spread of infection, it is the single most effective way patients can ensure that their care providers, as well themselves and their families, are doing all they can to prevent infection,” said Tom Closson.
The OHA has worked closely with the MOHLTC and Public Health Ontario to prevent the spread of infectious diseases:
- Designing and launching Clean Hands Protect Lives, in partnership with the MOHLTC, a hand hygiene campaign targeted at patients, to educate and empower them about personal hand hygiene while managing their expectations about when health care providers should clean their hands.
- Developing and implementing the MOHLTC’s Just Clean Your Hands program, and facilitating “train-the-trainer” sessions across Ontario hospitals.
- Since 2006, promoting awareness and uptake of the Provincial Infectious Diseases Advisory Committee (PIDAC) Best practice documents.
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For more information, contact OHA Public Affairs at:
416-205-1346/ tharel@oha.com