Logo Image
|Articles|September 23, 2015

Environmental Cleaning in the Ambulatory-Care Setting

This Pulse summarizes best practices associated with environmental cleaning and surface disinfection in the ambulatory-care environment. It highlights basic infection prevention recommendations for outpatient settings, and reaffirms Standard Precautions as the foundation for preventing transmission of infectious agents during patient care in all healthcare settings.

Issue Summary

This Pulse summarizes best practices associated with environmental cleaning and surface disinfection in the ambulatory-care environment. It highlights basic infection prevention recommendations for outpatient settings, and reaffirms Standard Precautions as the foundation for preventing transmission of infectious agents during patient care in all healthcare settings.

Table of Contents

  • Key Guidance from the CDC
  • Environmental Surfaces in Ambulatory-care Settings
  • Medical Equipment in Ambulatory-care Settings

Takeaways for Your Business

  • Review lapses in infection control in outpatient settings
  • Learn about recommendations for disinfection of environmental surfaces in ambulatory-care settings
  • Discover recommendations for cleaning, disinfection and sterilization of medical equipment in ambulatory-care settings

Related to this article

View more
Infection preventionists in full PPE with children in DRC. (Image credit: author with AI)
Chasing the Bundibugyo Outbreak: How Static Numbers Hide a Moving Epidemic
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.
Read more
Dyan Troxell, MSN, RN, director of clinical education at HandCraft Linen Services; J.J. Odom, MBA, CHESP, CMIP, T-CHEST, university director of buildings and grounds for UConn Health and chair-elect of the AHE Board; and Jenna Rivers, MPH, CPH, CIC, manager of infection prevention and control at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
At AHE Exchange26: Building Safer, Smarter Reusable Linen Programs
At AHE Exchange 2026, ICT spoke with experts representing commercial laundry services, EVS, and infection prevention about the systems behind a successful reusable linen program. They discuss linen quality, reject rates, unnecessary waste, frontline education, data, PAR levels, infection prevention oversight, and why strong relationships between health care facilities and their laundry providers matter.
Read more