Senior Living Infection Control Leadership: Why Frontline Women Must Shape Safety and Environmental Decisions

In senior living, infection prevention is not an abstract policy. It is lived, daily work carried out by the people cleaning resident rooms, disinfecting high-touch surfaces, and responding in real time to outbreaks. Yet the majority of that workforce, particularly women in housekeeping and operational roles, is often left out of the very innovation and purchasing decisions that shape how infection control is implemented.

In this February 2026 Q&A, Norelle Done, Director of Marketing at Viking Pure Solutions, challenges senior living leaders to rethink who gets a seat at the table. She argues that excluding frontline women from decisions about chemical safety, product selection, and environmental protocols creates a disconnect between policy and practice. When innovation is designed without the insight of those doing the work, infection control risks becoming theoretical rather than functional.

At its core, this conversation is about culture. In senior living, the environment is part of care. And if that is true, then the voices shaping environmental safety must reflect the people delivering that care.

ICT: Women make up most of the senior living workforce, especially in housekeeping and operations, yet they’re often excluded from innovation decisions. What is lost when frontline women are not at the table, particularly in areas like infection control and chemical safety?

Norelle Done: When women are doing the work but are excluded from innovation decisions, we create a dangerous disconnect.

In senior living, women often perform the work. In housekeeping, they’re using the products to clean common areas and resident rooms and disinfect high-touch surfaces. At the operational level, they’re responding to outbreaks and managing the real-time pressure of infection control. Yet too often, product selection and protocol decisions happen in rooms they’re not in.

What gets lost is reality.

We lose insight into what’s actually practical, what’s causing respiratory irritation or skin reactions, what actually slows workflow during an outbreak, and what corners inevitably get cut when policies don’t match staffing levels.

When frontline women aren’t included, innovation becomes theoretical instead of functional. Infection control becomes something designed for them instead of with them. In a setting where safety, dignity, and trust are everything, that gap matters.

ICT: Housekeepers and operational staff are closest to residents and day-to-day workflows. In your view, how can their lived experience meaningfully shape the design and adoption of safety, wellness, and infection prevention technologies in senior living?

ND: Housekeepers and operational staff are not “behind the scenes” – they are part of the care team.

They’re in resident rooms every day. They notice changes in behavior, appetite, and mood. They see how odors, air quality, and cleaning routines affect comfort, especially in memory care. That proximity gives them insight that leadership often doesn’t see.

They also understand workflow reality. They know which infection control protocols are sustainable during an outbreak and which will break down under staffing pressure. Their input ensures safety technologies are usable, not just compliant.

And when they’re involved early in evaluating and piloting new solutions for safety, wellness, and infection prevention, adoption improves. It shifts from a top-down mandate to shared ownership.

If the environment is part of care—and it is—then the people managing that environment must be involved in shaping the systems designed to protect it.

ICT: Infection control and environmental safety are frequently framed as operational or adherence issues rather than leadership priorities. Why is that a mistake, and what risks do organizations take when they overlook these decisions at the executive level?

ND: It shocks me that infection control and environmental safety are still treated as operational checkboxes instead of leadership priorities in some communities.

In senior living, a healthy environment is care. The air residents breathe, the surfaces they touch, the products staff use every day—these are not back-of-house details. They directly affect resident health outcomes, staff retention, family trust, and brand reputation.

When executives frame infection control as [an adherence] issue rather than a strategic one, they risk making short-term purchasing decisions that create long-term consequences: more sick days, staff burnout from harsh chemical exposure, preventable outbreaks, reputational damage, and increased liability.

The right executive oversight changes the conversation from “Are we meeting minimum standards?” to “Are we building the safest, most resilient environment possible?”

Organizations that overlook these decisions at the leadership level often operate reactively – responding to outbreaks, survey findings, or complaints – instead of proactively designing systems that protect residents and staff.

In a congregate care setting, environmental safety is not a facility's issue. It’s a culture issue, and culture starts at the top.

ICT: When women influence the tools used in cleaning, disinfection, and daily care, what changes do you see in workflow efficiency, staff safety, and retention? Are there examples where inclusion directly altered outcomes?

ND: When women influence the tools used in cleaning and disinfection, the shift is immediate and measurable.

Workflow becomes more efficient because the people actually doing the work help select tools that are practical for that work. They prioritize simplicity, reduced product complexity, and realistic dwell times. That reduces confusion, speeds up room turns, and improves consistency. And it can affect whether products are actually used correctly.

Staff safety also improves, and that’s not theoretical.

I spoke with a housekeeper who, at a previous community, had to obtain a medical exemption from using certain cleaning chemicals because of respiratory and skin reactions. During a trial of Viking Pure’s non-toxic, fume-free products, she couldn’t express enough the physical relief she felt. She talked about being able to clean resident rooms without headaches, without tightness in her chest, without worrying about what she was breathing in.

That changes everything. And as she told me, it wasn’t just her own comfort; she felt so much better about using these products around the residents she was helping to care for because she wasn’t worried about aggravating Ms Ruth’s asthma or remembering to clean Mr Wayne’s room with a different cleaner because the standard one gave him a rash.

When staff feel physically safe, morale improves. When they feel heard in the evaluation process, ownership increases. When their health is protected, retention stabilizes.

Inclusion isn’t just symbolic; it alters outcomes. It transforms cleaning from a task that feels hazardous into one that feels aligned with caregiving.

ICT: Looking ahead, what practical steps can senior living organizations take to ensure women, especially those in frontline and operational roles, are actively shaping the innovation agenda rather than reacting to decisions made without their input?

ND: First, invite them in early, not after decisions are made. As much as that may seem to be a no-brainer, it is unfortunately not. This means including housekeepers, environmental services leaders, and operational staff in product trials, technology pilots, and infection control reviews before contracts are signed.

Second, formalize feedback loops. Create structured forums or review meetings where frontline women can share what’s working, what’s causing strain, and what needs improvement, and, importantly, ensure leadership responds visibly.

Third, elevate representation. Place women from operational roles on safety committees, purchasing teams, and innovation task forces so environmental decisions reflect real-world experience.

And finally, treat environmental safety as a strategic priority. When leadership signals that the people doing the work matter, inclusion becomes a cultural norm, not a courtesy.