E-COLI, SHIGELLA, SALMONELLA... OH MY! The Places We Miss When Washing frequently missed Less frequently missed Most frequently missed Because of the unique texture and shape of hands, some areas are inadequately cleaned more often than others. A Silver Lining The two facility sectors that show the largest growth forecasts for building ser-vice contractors (BSC) are health care and schools. As of 2008, only 14 percent of health care facilities in the U.S. were in the hands of BSCs. The Canadian health care authorities are also considering the use of private compa-nies to provide environmental services with a savings for their government-controlled system. The increasing pressure on federal, state and county government budgets are caus-ing a flood of outsourcing of public school facilities as a sensible cost-cutting measure for local school boards throughout the U.S. While there are local battles to keep pri-vate BSCs out, those battles are being won by private companies on the basis of lower cost to the citizens. One strategy for BSCs that would be effective and is necessary is to take on the responsibility for education to both the gen-eral public as well as the two growing facility sectors on the critical importance, as well as the best practices, of good hand hygiene. This is an issue that our industry could own. Who better than “the cleaning people” to talk about and teach the importance of washing your hands? A quick Internet search on good hand hygiene or how to wash your hands yields an enormous amount of both entertaining and informative material. Much of the material available is in the public domain and free for anyone to use. It would be simple to appropriate and utilize the existing creative tools to boost compliance. Hand hygiene is the foundation of infec-tion prevention. Compliance with effective hand hygiene practices is not high enough. Public awareness and education are the most effective means to boost compliance. We have a responsibility to raise pub-lic awareness and educate everyone on proper hand hygiene. The only question that remains is, “Will you seize this opportunity?” CM Ed Selkow is a 36-year veteran of the commercial janitorial industry. Selkow is team leader of Janitorial Growth Solutions, a consult-ing firm that concentrates on expansion tools, methods and strategies for janitorial companies throughout North America. For more informa-tion, visit http://JanitorialGrowthSolutions.com. Connect with Ed via LinkedIn at www.LinkedIn.com/In/EdSelkow. ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT OUTBREAK? KAIVAC DEVELOPS SCIENCE-BASED CLEANING SYSTEMS SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN TO REMOVE GERMS AND OTHER BIO-CONTAMINANTS FROM HIGH RISK SURFACES AND TOUCHPOINTS THAT OTHERS LEAVE BEHIND. Call 1-800-287-1136 for a FREE demo. Product Information no. 212 on page 24 www.cmmonline.com 35
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