infection rates. A study published in 2017 demonstrated this by improving patient education on both proper hand-washing procedure and important times to use sanitizer and successfully reduced the rate of enterococci and Staphylococcus aureus. All visitors must follow the same procedures as hospital staff to adequately control the spread of infections. Moreover, multidrug-resistant infections can leave the hospital and become part of the community flora if steps are not taken to stop this transmission. It is unclear whether or not nail polish or rings affected surgical wound infection rates. Gloves In addition to hand washing, gloves play an important role in reducing the risks of transmission of microorganisms. Gloves are worn for three important reasons in hospitals. First, they are worn to provide a protective barrier for personnel, preventing large scale contamination of the hands when touching blood, body fluids, secretions, excretions, mucous membranes, and non-intact skin. In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has mandated wearing gloves to reduce the risk of bloodborne pathogen infections. Second, gloves are worn to reduce the likelihood that microorganisms present on the hands of personnel will be transmitted to patients during invasive or other patient-care procedures that involve touching a patient's mucous membranes and nonintact skin. Third, they are worn to reduce the likelihood that the hands of personnel contaminated with micro-organisms from a patient or a fomite can transmit those micro-organisms to another patient. In this situation, gloves must be changed between patient contacts, and hands should be washed after gloves are removed. Antimicrobial surfaces Micro-organisms are known to survive on inanimate "touch" surfaces for extended periods of time.Michels, H.T. (2006), Anti-Microbial Characteristics of Copper, ASTM Standardization News, October, pp. 28-31 This can be especially troublesome in hospital environments where immunodeficient patients are at enhanced risk for contracting nosocomial infections. Patients with hospital-acquired infections are predominantly hospitalized in different types of intensive care units (ICUs). Touch surfaces commonly found in hospital rooms, such as bed rails, call buttons, touch plates, chairs, door handles, light switches, grab rails, intravenous poles, dispensers (alcohol gel, paper towel, soap), dressing trolleys, and counter and table tops are known to be contaminated with Staphylococcus, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (one of the most virulent strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. Objects in closest proximity to patients have the highest levels of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. This is why touch surfaces in hospital rooms