Green Light for Clean Hands and Safer Care
By Office of Communications & Marketing | Aug 27, 2026
Eight years after introducing BioVigil, University Hospital at Downstate renewed the program last week with an event in The Commons focused on hand hygiene and patient safety.
“Every patient who comes through our doors deserves safe care that they can see and trust,” said President Riley.
Downstate introduced the BioVigil Hand Hygiene System in 2018, becoming the first SUNY hospital and the first hospital in New York City to use the technology. Employees wear badges with red, yellow, and green lights that signal when they need to clean their hands before and after caring for a patient. Green means clean, yellow is a reminder, and red means clean your hands immediately. Patients can see the badge and know that their caregiver has taken this important step to protect them from hospital-acquired infections.
Since 2018, Downstate employees have recorded 25.3 million hand-hygiene opportunities and maintained an average compliance rate of 90.3 percent, or about nine out of every 10 recorded opportunities. An estimated 383,000 cross-contamination events have been prevented. Central line-associated bloodstream infections decreased by 83 percent, from 29 to five, while catheter-associated urinary tract infections decreased by 54 percent, from 13 to six. Overall, average annual healthcare-associated infections declined by 61 percent.
For patients, fewer infections can mean fewer complications, less additional treatment, shorter hospital stays, and a safer recovery. For caregivers, each green badge confirms that they have taken a critical step to protect the patient in front of them and prevent infection from spreading to the next.
More than 420 employees have been trained for this next phase. Downstate is now working to meet or exceed the 94 percent average among BioVigil hospital partners.
Dr. Balavenkatesh Kanna, UHD Chief Executive Officer, reviewed what employees and managers must do to keep the program working. Employees are expected to check out their assigned badges, make sure they are working, wear them correctly, respond to every prompt, and return them at the end of each shift.
Managers and clinical leaders were asked to discuss BioVigil during unit huddles, review performance, address equipment and workflow problems, recognize employees who use the system consistently, and provide coaching when needed.
“Reliable systems depend on reliable actions,” said Dr. Kanna. “That is how we will make this relaunch part of our daily operating culture.”
The program also featured Dr. Rami Nakeshbandi, Chief Medical Officer; Dr. Mafuzur Rahman, Chief Medical Information Officer; and Martha Braverman, BioVigil’s Director of Client Success. The speakers reviewed Downstate’s performance, demonstrated correct badge use, and discussed how hand hygiene protects patients. BioVigil representatives Jonathan Fuhrman, Vice President of Marketing, and Brittany Rodriguez, Client Success Manager, also attended.
Dr. Rahman “returned” as an original BioVigil star from when the system was introduced eight years ago to reinforce the need for continued hand-hygiene education as new residents and other healthcare workers join Downstate.
“Consistency creates trust,” Dr. Riley said as he closed the program. “Our message is simple: clean hands, visible commitment, safer care.”
You will soon see new BioVigil posters featuring the first group of Downstate colleagues in the “These Hands Protect Patients” campaign. The photographs focus on their hands and show each employee wearing a properly positioned BioVigil badge glowing green. The posters make clean-hand practices easy to recognize and show patients that the people caring for them take their safety seriously.
When you see your colleagues in the hallway, say hello. You already know their hands are clean!
BioVigil Hand Hygiene System Relaunch
Tags: University Hospital at Downstate, Downstate Health, Keep Care Close