November 21, 2024
Food, shelter, and clothing are basic needs of life. Well, another one is waiting at the door and deserves to be in the room. It is our humble hygiene. Hygiene is one of the basic needs of life. It controls the quality of life and contributes to maintaining a healthy life forever.
Hygiene plays a pivotal role in the healthcare sector. A hygienic, germ-free environment helps in faster patient recovery.
In this post-pandemic era, people emphasizing hygiene and cleanliness more than before. The healthcare sector is not excluded from that. Everyone is trying their best to increase hygiene and tidiness in this sector, and many are failing miserably. This failure is because healthcare is a high-footprint sector, and patients bring germs with them. Naturally, it becomes a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. It raises the chances of cross-contamination.
To avoid these issues, many healthcare organizations opt for cleaning every hour. This is good, but every healthcare organization has a lot of equipment and hard-to-reach corners. If not cleaned properly, these corners and equipment tend to accumulate germs and spread them.
To solve this problem, every healthcare organization must follow a healthcare cleaning guide. The guide will ensure that no corner is missed and that no space is left for contamination. Now, if you are wondering what a healthcare cleaning guide is, then you must read this blog. As veteran cleaning experts, today we will inform you about a healthcare cleaning guide and tips for maintaining it.
Let's start!
Healthcare facility cleaning is quite different from regular domestic cleaning. Cleaning a healthcare facility involves handling loads of germs, bacteria, blood, and other things. To deal with these efficiently, experts suggest providing the cleaning staff with OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) training and informing them about guidelines.
According to the guidelines, healthcare facility cleaning is paramount. It helps to keep every area of the facility pristine and germ-free and maintains the health guidelines efficiently.
For your convenience, here are the types of cleaning in healthcare facilities-
Routine is the regular cleaning service at any healthcare center. It includes mopping and dusting. It is done when the patient is in their room. This cleaning aims to remove every dust, blood stain, excretion, and other organic material from the space.
According to the health guidelines, this type of cleaning must be done once a day. However, suppose the patient is severely ill, and room accessories are getting dirty fast. In that case, it might need to be done several times.
Terminal cleaning is much more in-depth than the previous one. Hence, it is done once the patient is discharged. The aim of this cleaning is to remove organic material from the bed and the surface area. Also, the focus remains on removing maximum germs and bacteria. For this, staff usually use ample disinfectant on hard surfaces and sterilize all the equipment.
Typically, a terminal cleaning includes tasks like changing bed linens, cleaning all the utensils, cleaning the windows and sinks, etc.
Like every commercial space, healthcare facilities have high-touch and low-touch areas. In the high-touch or contamination-prone areas, scheduled and terminal clearing occur simultaneously. The main aim of scheduled cleaning is to remove dust and dirt particles from all visible areas. Thus, it is undoubtedly much more hectic than the previous two. Also, this cleaning includes a lot of disinfectant to diminish the chances of disease spread.
Schedule cleaning is enough for every hard surface; however, if blood touches any hard surface, it is suggested to opt for terminal cleaning.
Usually, three cleaning processes run simultaneously in every healthcare center to ensure the whole area is tidy, clean, pristine, and bacteria-free. If you own a healthcare center, do your best to run all three cleaning process simultaneously.
Data shows that 36 million people visited or were admitted to hospitals in the US in 2023. This indicates the amount of pressure on the country's healthcare sector. Naturally, the cleaning staff remains busy throughout the day. No matter how much they try, missing out on some areas or pointers is normal.
However, it is not an affordable mistake in the healthcare sector. A single mistake can lead to contamination, patient death, and breaching of government protocol. Eventually, the incident will lead to a legal battle and negatively impact your brand image.
Experts suggest maintaining a professional hospital cleaning guide to manage a perfect cleaning schedule and prevent mistakes. The guide will serve as a reminder for every employee, and as an owner, you will be able to track the workflow easily.
Here is the professional hospital cleaning guide-
Cleaning solutions play a pivotal role in the healthcare sector. They control the tidiness of the place. Additionally, the facility must use EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) approved solutions and cleaning agents to prevent legal issues and maintain the highest patient safety.
It is crucial to inform that the EPA doesn't have a specified disinfectant for regular patients. However, they have this for patients with mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB). The facility must use disinfectant-containing ingredients like Hydrogen Peroxide and Paracetic Acid or quaternary ammonium and Hydrogen Peroxide to clean these patient rooms.
According to US governmental guidelines, cleaning staff must maintain a cleaning order while doing their job. The rules state that one should start by cleaning the shared items. Then, they need to clean the surfaces touched during patient care and, after that, surfaces touched by the patient.
The order ensures that the cleaning must start from the high-touch zone and slowly enter the patient's zone. This helps to prevent any chances of contamination and missing out.
Everyone in a healthcare facility needs to be cautious. Any mistake can lead to more mistakes, and cleaning is not excluded from that.
For efficient cleaning, one must clean the beds first. After that, environmental surfaces need to be cleaned, and then floors. The experts elaborated on the reason, stating that floors collect the maximum amount of dust and debris during the cleaning. Thus, it must be learned at the last stage of the task.
Cleaning must be a daily habit. For this, the US authority has instructed that every healthcare facility change the bed sheets and other clothing daily. The clothing must be washed at an accurate temperature with the ideal cleaning agent.
Additionally, cleaning must not be limited to changing the bed sheets. The bed rails and legs must also be cleaned regularly.
Almost every healthcare facility has several contagious patients who need special care. For that, they need to be separated strictly and their rooms cleaned differently.
According to the health guidelines, cleaning clothes for the contagious patient's room must be different and kept in a different place. Mixing them with regular cleaning wipes can lead to serious contamination in the whole facility. Additionally, as an owner, instruct your cleaning staff to use more disinfectant while cleaning these patients' rooms.
Every worker or internal member of a healthcare facility is a warrior. They protect the patients and take care of all. Hence, everyone needs to pay the highest emphasis on their safety.
For this, provide ample personal protective equipment (PPE), masks, gloves, and other items. Remember, PPE can't be shared or reused. Additionally, if the PPE gets any blood stains or organic material, it must be disposed of accurately. Therefore, provide ample PPE and instruct the staff correctly. At the same time, the cleaning staff must wear gloves while cleaning and dealing with chemicals.
Healthcare is one of the busiest sectors, and it is an emergency sector. When treating a critical patient, a doctor can't be focused on throwing the plastics accurately or opening the medicine bottle correctly. Therefore, spillage, blood stains, messy floors, etc., are very common here. In order to maintain the place, you must run a regular cleaning service 24* 7.
However, regular cleaning doesn't mean only dusting or mopping the floors. Cleaning staff must be cautious about the broken or sharp things on the floor. Every such thing must be removed in the first place.
These guidelines will help you abide by health regulations. Thus, never miss any pointers. Also, always try to use EPA-approved disinfectants and hoard ample amounts of cleaning supplies for an uninterrupted cleaning experience. However, if you run out of stock accidentally, don't worry. You can disinfect with 1/3 cup of bleach added to 1 gallon of water or 70% alcohol solutions.
The healthcare sector faces a substantial challenge in managing cleanliness. The high patient ratio and huge area make it difficult for the cleaning staff. They often follow the same cleaning routine or use the same products for every space. However, every area doesn't attract the same amount of bacteria or dust. For example, the patient waiting area attracts more germs, dust, and debris than the kitchen or internal lobbies. Thus, every area must have a dedicated cleaning routine. Are you confused? Well, here are some cleaning tips dedicated to specific areas of healthcare facilities.
Every patient is different, and they need special care to get fit. However, only medicines can't help a patient. Cleanliness plays a pivotal role. It reduces the chances of contamination and keeps the patient happy. Therefore, patient room cleaning is highly crucial in the healthcare sector. Here are some tips for cleaning this area.
The doctor's room attracts heavy traffic every day. Patients, visitors, and staff keep visiting the doctor's room. Some staff members come directly from the ICU (intensive care unit). It increases the chances of spreading germs and disease. Thus, cleaning it carefully is mandatory. Here are tips for cleaning a doctor's room.
Many times, some owners or authorities ignore the safety of nurses. However, they are another pillar of the healthcare sector. In the absence of doctors, they care for the patient and provide necessary assistance. Thus, they are no less than a doctor. According to data, the ratio of nurses in the US is one to every four patients. Hence, it is clear that they face tremendous pressure, too. Here are some tips for efficient cleaning.
The intensive care unit (ICU) has the most vulnerable patients. Doctors transfer them to the ICU for the severity of the disease. Thus, it can be noted that a minor mistake can be life-threatening here. Additionally, ICUs have contagious patients many times. Therefore, special attention is mandatory. Here are some tips for efficient cleaning.
You might be surprised by this point. Well, healthcare facilities have a large kitchen because they provide food to the patients (according to their needs). Although every kitchen must be pristine, the healthcare facility kitchen has exceptional value. Patients are directly consuming the food. Hence, there is no room for a mistake. Here are some tips for cleaning it.
Healthcare facility bathrooms usually have high traffic. Nurses, doctors, patients, and visitors visit bathrooms continuously. Thus, a 24*7 cleaning is mandatory. It is essential to mention that most healthcare facilities have dedicated bathrooms for visitors in each section. Try to take care of all equally. Here are some tips for that.
Emergency departments have a lot of vulnerable patients. Hence, healthcare experts count this area as a high-risk zone. Additionally, due to a high number of patients and foot traffic, this area always suffers from the fear of high contamination. According to the study, this area contains germs and bacteria and needs special care. Here are some tips for cleaning this area perfectly.
These are the common corners of a healthcare facility. Lobbies and waiting areas also need proper cleaning. For that, instruct your staff to run cleaning works 24/7, focus on using ample disinfectant, and empty every bin.
Proper cleaning of the bins and disposing of the waste materials control healthcare quality and contribute to maintaining legalities. To manage the highest legalities, follow a guide to trash, recycling, and garbage pickup schedules in NYC.
Healthcare is the backbone of any nation. It controls the nation's future, current stability, and quality of life. However, providing quality service is not easy. The sector has extremely high foot traffic, fear of contamination, tight schedules, and life-threatening emergencies.
Although there are many parameters to provide a quality service (medicine, infrastructure, etc), cleanliness is one of them. A clean and pristine environment helps to manage the patient's health issues faster and prevents the spreading of diseases.
Many netizens believe that only following a healthcare cleaning services guide is enough to achieve the goal. Well, it is not accurate. Only following the healthcare cleaning guide can provide a pristine environment; however, healthcare felicities deal with organic matters like blood or plasma and loads of chemicals. Unprofessional cleaners can clean it from the surface, yet they leave germs and bacteria in that place. These bacteria are not visible with bare eyes, which make the scenario worse. Now, you can ask what the solution is. The solution is to hire a professional cleaning service. Here are some of the supportive reasons-
Professional healthcare cleaning service providers are specially trained and well-versed in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines. They work according to these guidelines and contribute to maintaining legality.
Apart from this, they follow waste management. It is crucial to mention that medical waste contains dry, wet, and hazardous materials. Some are recallable, while some are not. Professional cleaning service providers separate the wastes accordingly and dispose of them properly.
Patients are the main driving force of any healthcare felicity. No matter what, Felicity works hard for the well-being of patients, and it is also applicable during cleaning time.
Professional cleaners clean without disturbing patients. For this, they use technologies with lower noise, environment-friendly, zero-fragrance cleaning supplies, etc. Additionally, they are trained in this. Hence, they can do their job without moving a single bed or patient. This increases the convenience of patients and makes the healthcare experience more comforting.
As stated, unprofessional cleaners and regular cleaning agents clean only the upper surface. However, to kill all the bacteria, you must have something special.
Currently, the majority of professional healthcare cleaning service providers are using high-end technologies such as UV-C light disinfection (which works best for deactivating pathogens and microorganisms), robotic cleaners (for those corners that stay beyond the reach of humans), disinfection fogging machines (for spraying disinfectant everywhere), etc. These high-end cleaning technologies diminish human error and provide 99% safety.
Maintaining the indoor environment is of utmost importance for a healthcare felicity. However, it is not easy. Invisible microorganisms, dirt, mold, etc., make it hard.
Professional healthcare cleaning service providers use updated technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and data analytics to find these and then use tactics like steam vapor, UV-C light disinfection, disinfection fogging machines, etc., to clean them properly. Therefore, they provide a dirt—and smell-free environment. Naturally, it helps elevate indoor air quality and contributes to faster recovery.
Professional healthcare service providers help you get the best clean indoor space ever. The best part is that it builds a reputation for you. Do you know how? Simple: When patients get the best possible environment, they feel happy and satisfied and recover faster. This induces trust in the healthcare facility and contributes to building its image.
If you are stressing over who to contact for this, contact Sterling Cleaning Services without a second thought. We have hands-on experience cleaning healthcare facilities and all the necessary equipment.
We have been serving this industry in NYC for years. We are known for our quality service, skilled employees, top cleaning agents, and customized cleaning solutions. Additionally, we provide services on a flexible schedule. It means you can book a cleaning service at your convenience.
Do you have any queries? Connect with us and get the answer now!
Please reach us at any time to set up an appointment to review your commercial cleaning requirements. Sterling will provide an on-site review of your janitorial needs, then create a custom proposal that fits both your specifications and budget
ADDRESS
303 5th Avenue, New York, NY 10016
EMAIL US
LET'S TALK
Phone: 212-803-3328
Office Hours
Mon to Sat - 9 AM to 6 PM
