Gauging Green Disinfection Methods Healthcare The best options for reducing or destroying undesirable microbes and ensuring safety in the healthcare environment. By: Carl Solomon Sr. FOR H Carl Solomon Sr. is director of hospitality services, UC San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Centers at Parnassus, Mount Zion and Mission Bay (open-ing February of 2015). UCSF is a 655-bed specialty care teaching medical center, and is ranked #7 of the best hospitals in the nation by U.S. News & World Report . He manages a support services department providing patient transporta-tion, housekeeping, storekeep-ing, dispatching and waste stream management. Healthcare facilities across the nation continue to try to strike a balance between environmental dis-infectants that are effective in reducing or destroy-ing undesirable microbes, while ensuring patient and employee safety and protecting furnishings and surfaces. This article takes an objective look at chemical disinfectants and non-chemical disinfecting sys-tems, their “greenness,” benefits, risk factors and safety considerations. Characteristics of the ideal room disinfection system are: ■ Highest possible kill of all relevant organisms, especially Clostridium difficile ( C. diff ) spores ■ Fast ■ Simple to perform ■ Cost effective ■ Non-consumptive, sustainable ■ Can be safely deployed ■ No environmental residue ■ Reduces incidence of healthcare infections ■ High-quality supportive scientific evidence. Approaches To Greener Disinfecting Today, the four most common products or equip-ment types used to reduce the presence of patho-gens in the healthcare environment include: ■ Chemical disinfectants ■ Ultraviolet room disinfecting systems ■ Steam vapor sanitation systems ■ Disinfecting foggers. Steam vapor sanitation systems are inexpensive to operate since they use only electricity and tap water. for more info Visit www.cmmonline.com and type in search keyword: Healthcare . For more information on related products, visit www.cmmonline.com , select BUYERS’ GUIDE from the main navigation bar, and enter keyword: Disinfection . 32 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • July 2013 Image courtesy of Advanced Vapor Technologies
CMM – Archives July 2013: 32
