Environmental Services Issues

CHICAGO -- The American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) board of directors today announced the re-election of Tina Cermignano, CHESP, as society president for 2009. Cermignano is currently serving as 2008 president. Cermignano's year-long term as 2009 president begins Jan. 1, 2009.Cermignano is the operations manager for quality and environmental services at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. She has been ...

Kathy Roye-Horn, RN, CIC, is putting into action her beliefs about the importance of collaboration between infection control professionals (ICPs) and environmental services professionals (ESPs). In June, she spoke in Denver before the membership of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), and this month, she will find herself in San Antonio addressing members of the American ...

A heightened awareness of the dangers of cross-contamination in the healthcare environment is prompting environmental services (ES) professionals and infection control practitioners (ICPs) to pay closer attention to the way antibacterial wipes are being used in facilities. A new study coming out of the United Kingdom about the ability of wipes to spread bacteria is garnering attention as well. The ...

Medical devices are incorporating a greater number of touch screens these days; applications for these devices include patient/visitor information kiosks, patient medical records systems, surveillance systems, med/surge monitors, as well as touch screen monitors that are quickly replacing standard keyboard applications. Infection prevention and environmental services professionals are including these touch screens on their list of high-touch surfaces that require ...

Green cleaning has garnered a lot of attention over the last several years, but how appropriate is it for the healthcare environment, and is it compatible with infection prevention and control guidelines? ICT asked a number of industry experts to share their perspectives on this topic. Our roundtable participants are: • Steve Ashkin, president, The Ashkin Group, LLC • Jolynn ...