Staff Report
Published Oct. 19, 2009

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and BlueChoice HealthPlan of South Carolina are cordoning off businesses in a “Grime Scene Investigation: South Carolina” effort to help ward off the flu.

The companies are taking “Grime Scene Investigation: South Carolina” kits into the workplaces of some of their group accounts and are making some hand-washing campaign tools available for download by their customers.

This is part of an overall statewide campaign being conducted in partnership with the S.C. Hospital Association, Mothers Against Medical Error, Palmetto APIC (the state chapter of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology Inc.) and the University of South Carolina.

When they go into a workplace, BlueCross and BlueChoice HealthPlan representatives will have the full representation of tools used in crime scene investigations. This includes a body outline of the “deceased,” tape to cordon off the affected “grime” scene, a black light to assess the cleanliness of the “suspect’s” hands and instructions for the 11 steps that must be taken to ensure complete disinfection. Everyone is a “suspect” who must be examined to determine who caused the “grime” scene.

BlueCross’ workplace visits began last week at companies in Charleston and Columbia and will include Greenville in a few weeks. Visits in other parts of the state will also be planned.