The Evolution Of Cleaning: New Advances In Disinfection Technologies The basic tools to achieve a total clean room have advanced. I By: Dr. Mark Stibich In the beginning was the mop; in the middle was the mop; and, in the end, we will still have the mop. The basic tools used to clean rooms, even hos-pital rooms, haven’t evolved a great deal over the past decades. This lack of evolution is unfortunate because the bacteria and viruses that cleaning destroys have evolved quite a bit. It is now understood that the environment plays a critical role in infection control in healthcare and other settings, such as cruise ships. What is needed now are new tools to allow en-vironmental services (EVS) workers to attain a total room clean without creating additional burden or adding to turnover time. Moving Goalposts In the healthcare setting, the original job of the cleaning team was to make the hospital room look good. Emphasis was placed on efficiency and turning over rooms quickly. Rooms were expected to be fully ready for the next occupant in 38 minutes or less, which is a As pathogens evolve to resist treatments, EVS tools must evolve to protect patients. 28 CM/Cleaning & Maintenance Management ® • May 2013 Image courtesy of Xenex Healthcare Services Dr. Mark Stibich is chief scientific officer and co-founder of Xenex Healthcare Services, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems. He may be reached at Mark. [email protected].
CMM – Archives May 2013: 28
