The impact of these infections is high: Healthcare-Acquired Infections or Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAI) are a leading cause of death in the United States.
- One study shows that the hospital environment is the third leading source of infectious agents that can cause HAIs. 2
- A quarter of all nursing home residents are colonized with drug-resident bacteria, according to a recent study at the Columbia University School of Nursing.3
- Moreover, research shows that nearly three-quarters of nursing homes have been cited for lapses in infection control, more than any other type of health violation, with infections causing a quarter of the medical injuries experienced in nursing homes.4
Hand washing remains the most important step to contain the spread of HAI, but there are many other areas for improvement when looking at the cleaning techniques in healthcare environments. For instance, it’s estimated that half of all healthcare environments are filled with soft surfaces like upholstered furniture, rugs and throw pillows, yet these “un-washable” items that harbor bacteria are often the most overlooked surfaces because there is not a clear or consistent soft surface cleaning protocol.
What’s Un-washable?
In the past, laundering has been used to disinfect washable soft items (linens, towels, etc.) while other measures, like high-temperature steam cleaning or harsh disinfectants like bleach, were used on the un-washable items that couldn’t be laundered. These methods often damage or didn’t truly sanitize soft items such as throw pillows, rugs, curtains, mattresses, upholstered chairs, and other furniture. All need regular cleaning, yet in many facilities, there are no standards or effective methods in place to do that. These soft surfaces can harbor harmful bacteria, viruses, and mold or mildew, but can be difficult to sanitize.
Being familiar with the surfaces in a typical room that need to be cleaned and disinfected can help in understanding what type of product is needed to get the work done safely and effectively. Some products are designed for hard surface disinfection, and others are formulated to kill pathogens on soft surfaces. Knowing the difference is important, as is examining the labels, manufacturer’s directions and checking to make sure the product is registered with the EPA for its intended use. Some products used for hard surfaces can damage soft surfaces and vice versa. Look for multipurpose disinfectant products that can help your staff get the job done more efficiently and effectively, and work with your cleaning supplier to help assemble the most appropriate products for the job and train your staff on how and when to use these products correctly.
Areas of Concern
Recent research has heightened awareness around the need to launder privacy curtains in hospital facilities on a scheduled basis, as well as how contaminated white coats can act as a ride for germs, potentially undermining existing disinfection routines. Common soft surfaces that can harbor bacteria in healthcare environments include:
- Hospital beds a surface that patients, residents, visitors, and staff all come into contact with at some point in every healthcare facility - are often an epicenter of contamination, with the patient being the source. When a patient’s visitor, touches the bed (or the patient) before sitting on an upholstered chair in the room, the visitor transfers germs from one surface to the next. Similarly, when a nurse or staff member comes in to check the patient’s vitals or bring them medication, germs are transferred to the privacy curtain5 when it is opened as they leave.
- Research has also shown that half of all hospital mattresses have drug-resistant bacteria on them. Moreover, Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology reported that being in a bed previously used by a patient with an infection can increase a person’s risk of infection by 583 percent.6
- Rugs and carpets in public places can harbor some 200,000 bacteria per square inch—thousands of times more than the average toilet seat.7
- Research has shown that organisms like MRSA and VRE can persist on fabrics, like polyester, for as long as three months.8 Polyester surfaces may include bedspreads, uniforms, throw pillows, curtains or pillowcases in a resident’s room.
Solutions
Educate and train housekeeping staff to add a few simple steps to their routine to ensure that both hard and soft surfaces are being properly cleaned and disinfected or sanitized. Using multipurpose products on hard surfaces can help reduce the time and rework needed, helping to eliminate some of the stress on cleaning staff asked to do more with less.
Understand cleaning vs. disinfecting. By definition, cleaning is the process of removing the soil from a surface. A soil can harbor germs, such as E. Coli or Salmonella. Disinfecting is the process of killing these germs. Cleaning removes the soil and dirt while disinfecting kills microorganisms that cause disease and odor. Proper cleaning allows the disinfecting agents to work more effectively than disinfecting alone.
Scheduled laundering of any items that can be washed such as privacy curtains, white coats, and scrubs is essential to helping reduce germ spread.
Consistent use of an EPA-registered soft surface sanitizer to kill bacteria on soft surfaces that can’t be laundered - upholstered furniture, drapes, rugs, mattresses, and throw pillows - like P&G Professional’s Febreze Professional Concentrated Sanitizing Fabric Refresher which kills 99.9% of 16 types of bacteria* on soft surfaces when used as directed, while eliminating odors with the fresh scent of Febreze. A non-chemical, fresh scent can provide a comforting “just like home” feeling, particularly to residents in long-term care environments.
Hand washing by healthcare professionals (and residents and patients) is always the most effective practice to prevent the spread of infection.
With heightened awareness of the impact of and increased monitoring for infectious diseases, your facility likely has strategies in place for surveillance, prevention, and control of HAI through hard surface disinfection. By adding a few simple steps and the correct products for soft surface sanitization, your staff can keep infection prevention a top priority to protect vulnerable residents and patients from an HAI that can lead to serious health conditions.
About Beatrix Babcock
Beatrix Babcock, MS-HSA, LPN, owns HCI Consulting Group and currently serves on the P&G Professional Advisory Council. To help hospitals increase the quality of cleaning, protect patients’ health and increase their satisfaction, Babcock works with housekeeping and infection control staff to set cleaning standards, identify and assign risks, and train staff on proper cleaning techniques tailored for health care environments.
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