With the increased concerns of Healthcare-Associated Infections, or HAI’s, proper cleaning of healthcare-related facilities, such as hospitals, is very crucial. In that respect, there are many dangers inherent in the low-quality cleaning of hospitals, that can present problems for both patients and staff.
When looking to hire a cleaning company for your hospital, it is imperative that you realize not just any cleaning company will do. You need one that is versed in the protocols involved in medical facility cleaning. Furthermore, their staff must be properly trained in proper medical cleaning, and that training must also include knowledge in bloodborne pathogens, hand hygiene, cross-contamination and the legal aspects of the current HIPPA laws.
Studies have shown that budget restraints in the general business sector will dictate that cleaning for appearance will override the need of cleaning for health. When it comes to medical facility cleaning, this will not work to any type of good end. It must be established that there is more to medical cleaning than just the appearance of being clean. Cleanliness is required on a whole other level. A clean environment is required for all who come into contact with it, which will include staff, patients, and visitors. To achieve this goal, proper training and understanding in the science of medical facility cleaning is imperative.
When deciding on a company to provide your medical facility cleaning services, there are a few questions to keep in mind that you should ask.
- Does the company have a reliable documented history of their employee screening procedure? This is one of the most important questions you can ask, as a fully vetted employee should have passed both a drug testing and a criminal background check.
- Does the company do ongoing infection control risk assessments? This is a series of tests that determine if the cleaning throughout the medical facility is being done up to standards for various areas such as non-critical, critical, and high touch surfaces.
- Does the cleaning company implement the crucial elements in HAI reduction? These include the proper products to use, the proper procedures to follow and finally the proof of validation of compliance.
- Does the company have a discharge cleaning process in place? This is a method by which when a patient is discharged from the facility, the room they were in must be properly disinfected and sterilized before it can be used by another patient.
- Does the company train their employees in being respectful of patients when they enter the room to clean? It is important that the medical facility cleaning employees know that it is not just their job to disinfect and sterilize a patients room, but to engage with the patient as well.
As you can see, when looking to hire a cleaning company for your medical facility, you must realize that not just any company will do. The cleaning company must know the procedures and protocols involved in order to make sure that the job is getting done right. Not only for the patients benefit, but also for the benefit of any staff or visitors as well.