Infection control is essential in schools, where children are vulnerable to the spread of illness. Those illnesses can cause children to miss schools, and absenteeism can have lasting effects on performance and productivity.
We believe the healthiest, most effective and safest school infection control programs are built on education and behavior change. And on Sept. 8, we’ll be hosting a webinar on Infection Control that features an expert from Kimberly Clark Professional speaking about strategies to support a healthy school environment through hygiene and cleaning. The webinar will also feature two members of the Green Clean Schools Leadership Council who will discuss their award-winning green cleaning programs and share the methods they use to control the spread of disease in their schools.
Kimberly Clark Professional recently conducted a study on how schools can beat germs with behavior. First, they provided schools with signage, lesson plans and strategies that supported good hand-washing and surface cleaning practices in the classroom. These resources were used to educate, engage and motivate their classes to change behaviors to support infection control.
Kimberly Clark Professional observed results in participating schools that included decreased absenteeism, less germs and a raised awareness of the importance of handwashing and cleaning in the fight against illness. The results were published in conjunction with Scholastic in a downloadable white paper. One surprising result of the study was that students practiced better hygiene behaviors at home, too. According to the paper, “More than half [of parents] stated that their child’s hand hygiene improved due to the program.”
Many supplemental materials, including lesson plans, videos and articles on handwashing and infection control, can be accessed on Kimberly Clark Professional’s Healthy Schools Project website. These resources can be used in classes to help students develop a system to better wash their hands and wipe down common areas to help reduce germs. Educating students about the connection between the spread of illness and their behaviors is invaluable when it comes to infection control. The wonderful thing about these particular resources is that they help schools share the responsibility for green and healthy cleaning with students and teachers while also inspiring learning.
In addition to Kelly D. Arehart, Senior Manager, Global Innovation at Kimberly Clark Professional, our infection control expert panel will include Green Clean School Leadership Council members Mervin Brewer, Assistant Custodial Supervisor with Salt Lake City School District and Mike Jones, Director of Custodial Services with Columbia Public Schools in Missouri.
The best part about our webinars is that you can join the conversation. They provide a great opportunity for those who want to learn more about infection control and green cleaning (such as parents, administrators, teachers, custodial staff and school nurses) to ask questions and get answers. Our archived webinars on other hot-button green cleaning topics can be accessed on our website.
To supplement our popular Five Steps to Green Cleaning in Schools, we also offer specialized guides including a downloadable PDF on infection control in a green cleaning program. This document covers best practices and educates students and staff on how they can prevent germs from spreading with better behaviors. It also outlines how green cleaning contributes to infection control and lays out a plan for a proper infection control strategy aimed at high-risk areas.
Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to speak directly with our infection control panel. Register for the infection control webinar today!