ABSTRACT
A healthcare facility environmental services function plays a key role in controlling infections. Environmental services professionals must learn to clean for safety and health first and then clean for appearance. Many times, the important role that environmental services personnel play in keeping healthcare facilities safe is overlooked. Cleaning processes simply remove contaminants from the environment. The major tasks for environmental service workers include the following:
• Daily tasks such as mopping, dusting, and disinfecting • Cleaning patient care areas including rooms • Maintaining common areas, corridors, and offices • Cleaning windows, extracting carpets, and cleaning vents • Assisting with movement of furniture and equipment • Terminal cleaning of patient rooms after discharge • Moving trash and refuse to containers or pickup points • Cleaning and disinfecting contaminated areas • Picking up of hazardous and infectious waste materials • Cleaning up of chemical spills and releases
Patients, staff, and visitors entering healthcare facilities carry with them bacteria, viruses, and other microbes. The use of disinfectants in healthcare facilities reduces the number of microbes on a surface. The disinfection levels defined by Spaulding include noncritical, semicritical, and critical. These levels address the potential for infectious disease spreading via equipment, instruments, patient contact surfaces, or furniture. CDC further delineates disinfection levels for environmental surfaces in their publication Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities. Use the lowest cleaning level that meets the need. General surface cleaning physically removes all visible dirt, organic matter, and some bacteria. It is normally accomplished with water, mechanical action like scrubbing, and detergents. Conduct general surface cleaning before disinfecting.
