What happens when one disinfectant cannot satisfy every IFU? At AHE in New Orleans, Diane Cullen discusses weighted risk assessment, documenting difficult decisions, and why infection prevention and EVS need to work together.
News|Articles|December 10, 2025
- Infection Control Today, November/December 2025 (Vol. 29 No.6)
- Volume 29
- Issue 6
Challenge Yourself and Your Team With ICT's Environmental Services Crossword
Think you know your EVS science inside and out? This crossword puts your expertise to the test with clues drawn from disinfection practices, cleaning validation, and the terminology every EVS professional and infection preventionist should know. Grab a pen or a colleague and see how far your knowledge takes you.
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Environmental Services Crossword
Do you think you know your way around disinfection protocols, cleaning validation, and environmental services (EVS) terminology? This challenging crossword is designed for EVS professionals and infection preventionists who want to test their technical knowledge. From precleaning procedures to regulatory acronyms, each clue digs a little deeper into the science and practice of keeping health care environments safe. Grab a pen—or gather your team—and see how many you can solve without peeking at the answer key!
Articles in this issue
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Turnover pressure can leave critical OR cleaning steps unfinished. Karen deKay, MSN, RN, EBP-C, CNOR, CIC, FAPIC, examines common gaps in environmental hygiene and how shared responsibilities, attention to disinfectant contact time, and ongoing education can help teams strengthen practices between cases.
Sterile processing professionals face constant interruptions, cognitive overload, increasingly complex devices, and hundreds of IFUs. Randalyn Harreld, CRCST, FHSPA, explains why health care organizations must address the human factors behind SPD performance rather than expecting frontline professionals to simply absorb ever-increasing complexity.
This week on Infection Control Today, the stories ranged from emerging drug-resistant pathogens circling the globe to a landmark decade of surface science—all against a backdrop of ongoing outbreaks and a hard look at what the profession owes its own workforce.
At AHE 2026 in New Orleans, The Beryl Institute's Stacy Palmer discussed 8 guiding principles for experience excellence and why EVS professionals influence far more than environmental cleanliness. Their interactions, workplace culture, and connection with patients help shape the overall human experience of health care.
During National EVS Week, appreciation matters, but partnership matters more. Environmental services professionals bring infection prevention expertise and a unique understanding of the health care environment that can help identify barriers, improve cleaning and disinfection practices, and ultimately protect patients.
Nearly 4 months into the DRC's Bundibugyo virus disease outbreak, some indicators suggest transmission may be slowing. But shifting hotspots, treatment-center capacity problems, community deaths, and incomplete surveillance data show why national case totals alone cannot determine whether containment has been achieved.
A 10-year NIH-funded study used Bayesian statistical modeling to examine the relationship between continuously active EOScu surfaces and HAI reduction. EOS Surfaces representatives discuss the findings, passive infection prevention, environmental recontamination, and why IPs should continue asking tough questions.
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