When the time comes to visit a health-care provider, the last thing a sick or hurting patient wants to encounter is filth and disorganization. Imagine walking or wheeling into a dingy and dusty facility. You’re feeling very ill or in great pain, and you’re understandably anxious about your predicament. Seeing dusty shelves and tables, unvacuumed floors, jostled rows of chairs, and a lack of hand sanitizer would be enough to cause more anxiety and a greater sense of distrust.
Most health-care facilities would hate to give patients such a horrible first impression. After all, it could lead to lost clientele, an inability to provide proper treatment, and even the failure of the business. For these reasons and more, the importance of cleanliness in health-care settings is monumental. Read on to learn a few more reasons why maintaining cleanliness in health-care settings is so crucial.
Preventing Exposure and Transmission of Infections, Illness, and Disease
Many individuals seeking medical treatment may be especially susceptible to illness, infection, and disease. Exposing the vulnerable to such health hazards is unfair, unprofessional, and downright dangerous. As such, health-care facilities need to follow state sanitation and sterilization guidelines to ensure a consistently clean and safe facility. And staff should pay special attention to waiting rooms, lobbies, reception areas, and treatment rooms.
Continuing To Provide Quality Care
State health inspectors can also shut down a facility if they find substandard cleanliness during an inspection—either a routine inspection or one prompted by a concerned citizen. Health-care facilities that wish to uphold their positive reputation and continue to provide quality care would do well to maintain a clean, safe, and healthy environment.
Ways To Ensure Cleanliness
There are several ways health-care workers can take the importance of cleanliness in health-care settings seriously. Employees can be sure to use hospital-grade disinfectants and sterilize medical equipment in ultrasonic machines and autoclaves. They can also use equipment manufactured using RIM, as reaction Injection Molded equipment features parts molded together with as minimal parting lines as possible. In this way, fewer contaminants get into the machinery, making the equipment much easier to clean. Other ways to ensure cleanliness include:
- Training all staff on proper cleaning, sanitation, and sterilization techniques and procedures
- Utilizing touch-free disinfection techniques, such as UV-C or hydrogen peroxide mist
- Using aerobic colony counts in addition to visual inspections to ensure a contaminant-free space
- Establishing a daily cleaning routine
The good news is that many health-care facilities have a solid grasp on preventing the spread of infection, illness, and disease. Housekeeping staff also do a fabulous job ensuring that each space is clean, welcoming, and sterile, whether it’s a lobby, bathroom, or patient room.
