Housekeeping Hot Spots for Germs

Healthcare facilities today have more reasons than ever to be extra vigilant in their efforts to reduce healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), a problem that affects 2 million patients in U.S. hospitals every year, to the tune of $5.5 million. In fact, last month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) stopped paying hospitals for treating certain HAIs if they are not present on admission.

While HAIs can come from numerous causative agents and may be carried by numerous modes of transmission, attention should be paid to the role of environmental surfaces throughout the facility – especially those surfaces commonly considered as germ “hot spots.”

The problem? Germs that can cause colds, flu, infections and other health problems can live on surfaces, just waiting to be picked up by unsuspecting (clean) hands. While nothing beats good old-fashioned handwashing as a way to break the chain of germ transmission, proper attention to surface sanitation can also help minimize the transfer of microorganisms that can occur via hand contact between contaminated surfaces and the people who touch them.

In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cleaning and disinfecting environmental surfaces in healthcare facilities is fundamental in reducing the potential contribution of those surfaces to the incidence of HAIs. In addition to proper hand hygiene, such cleaning and disinfecting can help to minimize the transfer of microorganisms that can occur via hand contact between contaminated surfaces and patients.