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Clean Hands Campaign Debuts At Trinity Elementary

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SUNCOAST NEWS STAFF REPORT

Published: August 26, 2008

Updated:

TRINITY - Students at Trinity Elementary School and other Pasco schools are learning a simple way to combat a highly contagious bacterial disease: by washing their hands.

The "Clean Hands are Cool Hands" program premiered here with a kickoff event Monday at Trinity Elementary. A TV commercial by a star of the "Hanna Montana" TV series is intended to help make it a cool thing to do.

Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point and Community Hospital of New Port Richey are teaming up with the Pasco County School District to promote the campaign to prevent the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

MRSA, a form of staph infection that can cause a serious form of pneumonia and other problems, accounts for some 19,000 deaths a year in the United States.

"Being responsible and respectful of others by keeping hands clean helps keep everyone healthy," Trinity Elementary School Principal Kathy Rushe said in a press release.

And just in case students miss the message, popular teen actor and recording artist Mitchel Musso has been recruited to drive home the point.

Musso, 17, is best known for portraying the character Oliver Oken in the Disney Channel series "Hannah Montana." He will create a TV public service announcement educating kids and their parents on the importance of hand washing to prevent the spread of MRSA in schools.

In the 30-second spot, Musso is seen interacting in an animated world of every day items that can pass on germs and make us sick. Musso emphasizes how something as simple as washing your hands can dramatically reduce the spread of these germs and help prevent the illnesses that they cause.

The TV commercial aimed at students in kindergarten through fifth grade is set to debut late this month on TV stations across the country.

Regional Medical Center and Community Hospital are part of Hospital Corporation of America's chain of169 hospitals across the nation promoting the cause.

"The growing prevalence of MRSA in hospitals and communities, including in schools, is creating new challenges for the health-care community," HCA Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jonathan B. Perlin said in a press release.

"It is important to make parents and kids aware of the little things that they can do at home and at school to prevent its spread, such as washing their hands with soap and water or using a hand sanitizer."

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