About the Hand Hygiene Resource Center

The Hand Hygiene Resource Center is a project of the Saint Raphael Healthcare System and John M. Boyce, M.D. The Center’s mission is to advance the quality of patient care and reduce infection by improving hand hygiene practices in healthcare settings. 

The Center provides current and accurate information on hand hygiene practices, participates in the research and development of improved hand hygiene practices, and provides materials for the implementation of public and professional education programs designed to promote awareness of such practices. 

About the Saint Raphael Healthcare System

The Saint Raphael Healthcare System, in New Haven, Connecticut recorded over 284,000 patient visits in 2001 through its affiliates, including the Hospital of Saint Raphael, Saint Regis Health Center, Hamden Surgery Center, and Occupational Health Plus^TM. A leader in cardiac, cancer, orthopedic, neurosciences and geriatric services, the hospital is celebrating its 95th year of providing care to the community and was recently named a Top 50 U.S. Hospital in a study published in AARP’s Modern Maturity. 

Saint Raphael's caring mission is to improve the health status of our community by providing a comprehensive range of quality healthcare services. As a Catholic healthcare system sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth, we continue the healing ministry of Jesus Christ by stewarding our resources according to the principles of dignity, charity and justice. We collaborate with all who share our values, our vision for better health for each individual, and our special concern for the underserved, the poor and the elderly. Visit Saint Raphael's on the web at www.srhs.org.

About John M. Boyce, M.D.

Epidemiologist John Boyce, M.D., is section chief of Infectious Diseases and director of the Hand Hygiene Resource Center at the Hospital of Saint Raphael in New Haven, Connecticut 

Boyce received his M.D. degree from the University of Washington in Seattle, and completed his training in internal medicine at Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, R.I. and at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. He completed an infectious disease fellowship at the University of Texas in Houston. He served two years in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s Epidemic Intelligence Service, and an additional two years as a medical epidemiologist at CDC. Boyce has a long-standing interest in the epidemiology and prevention of nosocomial infections. 

Boyce is past president of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and chairs the Hand Hygiene Task Force, a coordinated effort of the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (under auspices of CDC), Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, Association of Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He is co-author of Hand Hygiene Guideline for Healthcare Settings, published by the CDC and was recently named to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) infection control expert panel.