At Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, preventing and controlling the spread of infection is a battle doctors, nurses and staff fight in two ways.

One is inside the hospital among patients and caregivers. The other is off the hospital campus, among the hundreds of thousands of local residents that Henry Mayo serves in the Santa Clarita Valley.

With flu season getting closer in the upcoming months, hand hygiene is more important than ever.

Dr. Lawrence, an attending physician in the hospital’s emergency department, recommends regular handwashing to reduce the transmission of viral and bacterial infections.

Handwashing is important all year round, but more so now as we approach the cold and flu season, she said.

We all have a heightened awareness during flu season and there seems to be something always some going around, so it’s important to have a good awareness to not being too close to those who are sick, according to Lawrence.

Hand hygiene reduces the spread of potentially deadly germs to patients and the risk of health care provider colonization or infection caused by germs acquired from the patient, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“When you are sick, don’t be afraid to take the day off of work, or if your child is sick, don’t be afraid to keep them (home from) school — because you could be risking the health of others,” says Lawrence.

Lawrence suggests teaching small children going away to preschool and summer camp for the first time good hygiene skills, like keeping a reasonable distance from others who are sick and handwashing regularly with soap and water and to the length of the “Happy Birthday” song.

Statewide, Henry Mayo has outranked hundreds of other California hospitals on the U.S. News & World Report “Best Hospitals” list for 2016-2017, and placed among the top 20 out of 140 hospitals regionally ranked in the Los Angeles.

The survey reviewed performance of 4,800 hospitals nationwide, looking at patient survival and infection rates, patient safety, nursing ratios and other quality and performance measures.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital is a 238-bed, not-for-profit community hospital and trauma center in Santa Clarita. The Henry Mayo Hospital emergency department is open 24-7 to provide critical life-saving services, with a panel of physicians available around the clock for critical healthcare needs. In addition, a number of specialized care services are also available, including a maternity department, community hospital cancer program, advanced primary stroke center, spine and joint program, acute rehab unit, cardiology services, outpatient wound care, physical and occupational therapies and a wide range of surgical services.

Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital

23845 McBean Parkway

Valencia, CA 91355

661-253-8000