High-Touch Surfaces

Gloved Hands, Surfaces are Common Culprits in Cross-Contamination

By now, most healthcare providers realize that hand-to-surface transmission can account for a significant amount of cross-contamination when the healthcare worker then proceeds to touch the patient, items in the patient’s immediate surroundings and then moves on to ...More
December 16, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene, Hand Hygiene, PPE & Standard Precautions
Proper Environmental Cleaning Relies on Education

ICT asked Philip Carling, MD, director of infectious diseases and epidemiology at Caritas Carney Hospital in Boston and a professor at Boston University School of Medicine, to share his insights on the topic of environmental cleaning.Q: Your studies have indicated that ...More
November 30, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene
Patient Room Cleaning Protocol

Thorough environmental cleaning and disinfection of rooms where patients with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) were hospitalized and treated is essential. The purpose of this cleaning and disinfection process is to remove bacterial contamination from environmental ...More
November 30, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene
Ecolab Licenses Environmental Hygiene Application from Infection Control Expert Philip Carling, MD

Ecolab Inc.'s healthcare division announces it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with infection control expert Philip C. Carling, MD, for his environmental hygiene patent applications. Carling will serve in an advisory role to Ecolab, which will utilize his ...More
August 26, 2009
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization, Environmental Hygiene
Managing Environmental Services Priorities

In the battle against healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), one common denominator continues to stand out amongst all requirements for clinical area surface disinfection, and that is time – time for the chemical to have the proper dwell time for disinfecting ...More
August 25, 2009
Posted in Articles, Disinfection & Sterilization, Environmental Hygiene, PPE & Standard Precautions
Environmental Cleaning is Imperative to Infection Prevention

The good news is that an increasing number of hospitals are becoming aware of the role that contaminated environmental surfaces play in the transmission of pathogenic organisms. The bad news is that many hospitals still are not doing everything they can to ensure rigorous ...More
August 25, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene, Hand Hygiene, PPE & Standard Precautions
Environmental Cleaning Issues: Advice from Industry Experts

Environmental Surface Disinfection in the Healthcare EnvironmentBy J. Hudson Garrett Jr., PhD, MSN, MPH, APRN, CIC One of the most critical interventions that can be routinely performed to decrease the risk for cross transmission and development of healthcare-associated ...More
June 22, 2009
Posted in Articles, Disinfection & Sterilization, Environmental Hygiene
A Disinfection Connection

Infection control professionals know the numbers all too well. Each year, almost 2 million patients are affected by healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), costing hospitals an estimated $35.7 billion to $45 billion nationwide. These costs result from direct medical costs, ...More
June 22, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene, Hand Hygiene
Tru-D: Proactive, Effective, Thorough, Fast, Proven

This article is part of the UV Light Product Showcase that was featured in the July 2009 issue of ICT.Clinical trials conclude that Tru-D exceeds all disinfection requirements for pathogen log reduction of high-touch surfaces for vancomycin-resistant Enteroccoci (VRE), ...More
June 22, 2009
Posted in Articles, Disinfection & Sterilization, Environmental Hygiene
C. diff Prevalence and Prevention

Infection preventionists received confirmation late last year of one of their concerns – that the incidence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) was increasing in U.S. hospitals. A large-scale national prevalence study conducted by the Association for ...More
January 29, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene, Hand Hygiene, PPE & Standard Precautions