Health Check: New hand-washing interactive simulator makes its way to Miriam Hospital

A new educational video game system is now in place at The Miriam Hospital in Providence, in the name of infection prevention.

It's called, "Sure Wash," which is an interactive simulator that walks you through each step of proper hand-washing. It's eye opening to the nurses at Miriam Hospital.

"I never would have washed my thumbs the way that the Sure Wash is instructing us to do,” said Sarah Shirshac, a registered nurse at the hospital.

"I had never ever thought of scrubbing my fingertips. I washed, but scrubbing my fingertips I never would have thought of," said Heather Laplume, another registered nurse.

"Published data shows the thumbs are missed, the fingertips are missed, each time,” said Nancy Vallande, director of Infection Control at The Miriam.

Vallande said she was so passionate about purchasing this simulator for the hospital.

"This is what I do. I've been teaching hand hygiene for over 30 years," said Vallande.

However, she admits that it can be hum drum. This simulator is making a game of it with prizes.

"We've had competitions. We're trying to beat each other out,” said Shirshac.

This game captures video of each employee practicing.

"So we're getting really good at it. I've been doing it more than a few times so now it's become muscle memory," said Shirshac.

Spreading knowledge, not germs. And this doesn't just apply to washing your hands in a sink.

The same concept applies to using hand sanitizers. And just for the record, the old rule of thumb for how long you wash applies is "15 seconds—happy birthday—that's what they teach children in school," said Vallande.