Hospital rooms can harbor germs that can cause serious infections, especially for elderly patients, those with weakened immune systems and those who have undergone surgery or who have catheters or tubes inserted in the body. National Environmental Services and Housekeeping Week (Sept. 13-19, 2009) is an opportunity to remind patients what an important role they can play in reducing the risk of infection transmission by keeping their hospital room as clean as possible. The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the American Society for Healthcare Environmental Services (ASHES) offer this advice to ensure a clean, healthy environment while patients are in a healthcare facility.
Hand hygiene is job one: Clean your hands -- and request that others do the same
Germs reside on many surfaces in the hospital – including bed rails, stethoscopes, faucets and even the TV remote control. You and your healthcare workers can pick up these germs on hands. So it is important to keep hands away from your tubes, wounds and face, and wash or sanitize your hands frequently. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue or your sleeve. Watch the staff to make sure they wash or sanitize their hands with waterless sanitizer before providing care – and remind them if they forget. Ask for waterless hand sanitizer near your bedside.
Survey your room – does it look clean?
Just like home, your hospital room should look and smell clean. Rooms should be cleaned daily. The areas of the patient room most at risk for harboring and spreading infection are those frequently touched by you and by healthcare workers. These are called “high-touch surfaces” and include bed rails, bedside tables, IV poles, call bells, door handles, bathroom surfaces and computer keyboards. Environmental services (ES) staff should put on a new pair of gloves when they enter your room, and focus on comprehensive cleaning of the high-touch surfaces. Observe the cleaning process to ensure the high-touch areas are being cleaned. Don’t be shy – if you believe they have missed something, say something! ES technicians might leave a card to let you know if they cleaned while you were away. If you have questions, call or ask nursing to call. Alerting the environmental staff of a concern will help to ensure a clean, healthy environment.
