Maintaining a pristine and sterilized medical facility isn’t always easy, but it’s an absolute necessity for the sake of both patient and staff member safety. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 100,000 people die every year from diseases acquired inside US hospitals. While all hospitals and medical facilities have a cleaning regimen in place, not all of them are designed or implemented with the safety of patients and staff in mind. Here are just a few ways to improve patient and staff safety with your medical facility cleaning procedures.
Move From Clean to Dirty
Many facilities make the mistake of cleaning surfaces in the order that’s most convenient and efficient. But it’s important to take extra care as a medical facility and clean the surfaces by starting with the cleanest first. This is especially the case with restrooms, as there are countless ways to spread contaminated soils from a bathroom facility surface to another area of the facility, particularly when a mop or rag is used in the process. Of course, if your facility uses industrial steam generators or other steam cleaning systems, this won’t be as much of an issue; steam cleaning systems eliminate chemical residues while sanitizing the surface being treated. Because so little water is consumed, approximately 1.5 quarts per hour, it’s virtually “mess free”. But in all other cases, it’s best to plan the cleaning schedule so the cleanest areas are treated first.
Prioritize High Traffic Areas
When figuring out your medical facility’s cleaning schedule, it’s also ideal to pay the most attention to the areas that get the highest amount of physical contact, including touch (sinks, counters, and other surfaces) as well as foot traffic (floors). Don’t forget to include other areas that are being touched consistently, including bed rails, phones, remote controls in patients’ rooms, doorknobs, and more. This reduces the chance of dangerous diseases spreading to patients and/or staff.
Ultimately, understanding these ways to prioritize patient and staff safety during all medical facility cleaning procedures is the key to reducing the spread of diseases. For more information about industrial steam generators, contact Falcon Prosolutions Inc.