Timpanogos Regional Hospital is part of a nation-wide public service campaign seeking to make hygiene exciting for kids.
Funded by the HCA Foundation, parent of six MountainStar hospitals (including Timpanogos Regional Hospital), the Web site cleanhandsarecoolhands.com will teach elementary school children how to wash their hands properly to prevent the spread of the antibody resistant germ staphylococcus aureus, also known as MRSA.
Diane Mayberry, infection prevention specialist at Timpanogos Regional Hospital, said doctors are working to bring the Web site to local school districts and health fairs.
"This program targets 6- to 11-year-old children, or kindergarten through fourth grades, because this age group is very impressionable, teachable and willing to learn," Mayberry said. "MRSA spreads very easily, especially throughout elementary schools, and the Clean Hands are Cool Hands Web site is a great way to teach them now how to properly wash their hands and hopefully it will become a habit in the future."
MRSA, often referred to as "staph," is bacteria commonly carried on the skin or in the nose and can cause infections. The skin infections that staph causes mostly appear as pustules or boils, often red, swollen and painful. These infections occur with skin-to-skin contact or when items or surfaces are touched by someone infected, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention Web site.
On the Web site, Mitchel Musso, co-star of the popular television series "Hannah Montana," invites parents and children to explore and discover the importance of washing hands. The site is divided into zones for kids, teachers and parents.
Under the kid's zone, children can watch videos of Musso, print out posters and bookmarks and watch a demonstration given by Dr. Perlin, the chief medical officer of HCA hospitals across the nation, for how to correctly wash their hands.
In the parents and teacher zone, the Web site provides lessons and activities that can be taught in the home or at school. This area also explains what MRSA is and how it spreads.
"In elementary schools, MRSA is spread mostly by children touching and being in close spaces together, but MRSA is not that hard to kill if you just learn to properly wash your hands," Mayberry said. "I know that the cleanhandsarecoolhands.com works because I have done activities with my 6-year-old granddaughter, and she now washes her hands just like she was taught."
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Copyright Brigham Young University 12 Sep 2008
