Medical Facilities Cleaning Checklist in St. Louis

Your in the ER for an emergency and your home is that everything is clean. A dirty bedrail or countertop can put a patient at risk of infection while they are seeking medical help. This is what you don’t want your patients to worry about. The number one goal of healthcare professionals is to make infection prevention a top priority. However, when you are in the ER treating patients even with your best efforts things can get overlooked from a lack of training or limited resources.

OUTPATIENT SURGERY CENTERS AND THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Unlike the rest of the hospital where patients are going to stay overnight, the E.R. and outpatient surgery centers won’t have patients in their care for very long. The patient comes in the for their procedure and then leaves to the comfort of their home to recover. This lowers costs for patients. More and more patients are opting to receive outpatient services than ever. More than three-quarters of all U.S. operations are performed as outpatient services says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

DEVELOPING A CLEANING PLAN

With and increase in outpatient services across the nation there comes an increased complexity of procedures performed and an increased risk for transmission of infections throughout emergency rooms and outpatient centers. These two areas of the hospital are critical for developing a cleaning program.

While every building is unique, there are key areas you should pay more attention to in your cleaning duties.

WAITING ROOMS AND RECEPTION AREAS

To reduce pathogens that can spread across surfaces and improve first impressions with patients pay special attention when cleaning waiting rooms and reception areas. Cleaning duties should include:

• Doorknobs, handles, seats, glass on doors and seats. These are high tough areas that should be wiped down and disinfected multiple times throughout the day to reduce the spread on pathogens.
• Carpets and floors: Vacuum and mop all floors that can and will trap allergens, germs and dust that will affect patients waiting to be treated.
• Dusty Surfaces: Wipe down window ledges, blinds, furniture and potted plants. These are places that often get overlooked when cleaning.

PATIENT ROOMS

With patients quickly moving in and out of rooms the need for thorough cleaning in between patients is critical. All high touch areas in the patient room should be disinfected and cleaned with EPA hospital grade cleaning products. You don’t want to leave any germs behind.

• Bedside tables
• Bedrails
• TV Remotes
• Door and cabinet handles
• Light switches
• Nurse call devices
• Bathrooms
• Privacy curtains
• Telephones
• Clinical equipment

While you can’t completely prevent the spread of pathogens, you can certainly do your part to keep them reduced. Contact Grimebusters to discover how we can help you with a cleaning plan for your outpatient center.