Staying sanitary in a medical office is pertinent to operating a safe place for patients and employees. Are you considering hiring medical office cleaning services for your building? If you want to know what this professional service entails, check out this article for advice.
On a list that includes catheters, surgery, and overuse of antibiotics, a main risk factor of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) includes improperly cleaned healthcare settings. Some of these infections, like c. diff, can cause lifelong complications.
Improper cleaning can actually spread the germs it’s meant to kill. A professionally trained medical cleaning team is fundamental in controlling the spread of disease.
More goes into providing medical office cleaning services than you think. Here are some things you might not have considered.
It Starts with Hiring the Right People
Finding the right medical cleaning team carries more weight than standard commercial cleaning. Medical settings can be susceptible to unlawful access of sensitive information. Patients must not be put at risk for identity theft.
As such, background checks are crucial. It is especially important that medical cleaning employees have a clear criminal record and are not registered sex offenders. Drug screening and social security authentication will further narrow the field of applicants.
Specialized Training
Training protocol for medical office cleaning is specialized and ongoing. HAI training focuses on hygiene, cross-contamination, high touch point disinfection, and bloodborne pathogen procedures. HIPAA training takes care of patient privacy.
Employees must demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of cleaning chemicals. This includes knowing possible surface reactions and properly observing disinfectant dwell time. They must also learn appropriate use of “green” products to reduce irritation to patients and medical staff.
The medical cleaning crew will come in social contact with patients as they clean patient areas. They must be able to engage with patients in a professional and courteous manner.
Attention to Detail
It starts with a sanitized floor. People drop things. They shouldn’t pick up pathogens when they retrieve them.
Proper trash disposal is vital in a medical setting where sharps are common. Gloves must be worn every time to ensure that employees are avoiding contact with trash during the removal process.
There are office areas with personal workspaces to consider. Cluttered surfaces have to be eliminated. A surface littered with materials will be difficult to access with disinfectant.
From restrooms, exam rooms, surgery and imaging areas all the way down to computer keyboards, medical charts, and tv remotes, every detail matters when preventing contamination.
Methods for Evaluation of Medical Office Cleaning Services
Ensuring effective medical cleaning requires continuous evaluation. The CDC provides toolkits and checklists for HAI prevention. They offer several evaluation approaches, including swab and slide cultures, ATP Bioluminescence, and using a blacklight to check that fluorescent gel test markings have been removed in the course of cleaning.
There’s also good, old-fashioned direct practice observation. Inconspicuous monitoring of employee procedure sounds better than spying, but quality control in this field cannot be understated.
Is Your Office Due for a Deep Clean?
Maybe you’ve never given medical office cleaning services much thought. There’s a lot that goes into maintaining a clean medical environment. When it’s the difference between public health and sickness, every bit of it matters.
Let us do the deep cleaning deep thinking for you! Request a free quote.
