Maintaining proper hygiene is more critical than ever during cold and flu season, especially in healthcare centers. Hospitals and clinics are full of high-touch surfaces, which are a breeding ground for germs and bacteria. You should clean these high-touch surfaces in your clinic as frequently as possible. If you need to know where to start, we have three high-touch surfaces listed below.
Creating a Hygienic Environment With the Touch of a Hand: Clean Doorknobs and Handles
Two high-touch areas that are easy to overlook are doorknobs and handles. Healthcare facilities receive hundreds of visitors every day, each with different bacteria and germs on their hands. Wiping down all doorknobs and handles frequently, preferably with disinfectant wipes, can help reduce the transmission of this bacteria. Healthcare workers should also consider using hand sanitizer before and after touching any door handles.
Preventing Patient-to-Patient Bacteria Transfer: Clean Stethoscopes
The stethoscope is an indispensable tool for diagnosing a patient’s condition, but these tools can fall through the cracks when it comes to cleaning. After all, they’re hanging around your neck all day. However, stethoscopes can harbor a variety of bacteria, including MRSA, which is a resistant bacterium that causes staph infections. Using the same dirty stethoscope can easily transmit bacteria between patients. It is crucial to clean the stethoscope thoroughly using a disinfectant wipe before and after use.
Protecting Fellow Staff: Clean Computer Tools
Patient health is a top priority for any health clinic, but we must also protect each other from bacteria and germs. One way we can do that is by thoroughly cleaning staff high-touch surfaces such as computer keyboards and mice. Staff should wipe down their computer keyboard and mouse at the beginning and end of each day, as well as in between patients, to minimize the risks of transferring germs. Infection prevention in healthcare often starts with the staff, so make sure to prioritize these tasks.
There are many high-touch surfaces you should clean in your clinic, including the three we listed above. Cleaning these and other areas promotes a positive image of healthcare facilities and ensures that both patients and staff are safe and secure.
AVAC: Where the Pipe Curves
This is the final installment in my notes from the December 2nd, Operations Advisory Committee meeting, following “An Emergency, Apparently” and “Rust Is Funny Until It Isn’t”.
