Surgical theaters and patient treatment areas are held to the highest standards for cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitation. These areas need to be in absolutely pristine condition and free from any potentially harmful pathogens, bacteria, viruses, or other microbes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offer up a series of best practices for cleaning procedures for operating rooms, surgical areas, and treatment patient areas. These procedures need to be carried out based on the potential overall risk of pathogen transmission in the environment. The overarching goal is to ensure that vulnerable patients are safe, while also minimizing the risk of cross-contamination.
Ensuring that your hospital operating room and other dedicated treatment areas are getting the disinfection it needs, often means working with a reputable, reliable surgical cleaning company. This calls for true professionals who understand how to calculate risk based on a variety of critical factors as well as how to apply the proper cleaning frequency. This exacting methodology goes a long way toward ensuring that the surgical environment is truly safe before the next patient is brought in.
To facilitate finding the best professional surgical cleaning company, you need to look for some of the following indicators.
Trustworthiness & Self-Auditing Capabilities
You need to be able to implicitly trust any professional surgical cleaning company you contract. This is especially true for cleanrooms, general treatment area cleaning, and sterilization. Yet without the proper auditing system in place, it can be extremely challenging to know whether germs and pathogens are being eradicated efficiently.
High-Level Black Light Auditing is one of the most convenient sterilization and sanitation auditing techniques. It uses a state-of-the-art fluorescent auditing tool that uncovers hazardous biological material that you simply can’t detect with the naked eye. It lets you trust that your professional surgical cleaning company is truly going the extra mile to ensure the safety of the patients who rely on your surgical services.
Professional Certification from the CSCT
A professional cleaning company fit to handle your surgical cleaning and sanitation needs shouldn’t simply be self-anointed. Professional certifications via the Certification Training for Surgical Cleaning Technicians (CSCT) are one of the best ways for a cleaning professional to stand apart from the rest of the field by demonstrating they are trained to surpass previous standards of cleaning. The CSCT certification program is overseen by the Association for Health Care Environment (AHE) which is dedicated to helping cleaning professionals develop a comprehensive understanding of how to manage pathogens while also employing state-of-the-art cleaning and sanitizing techniques.
This is an extensive training regimen that combines resourceful tactics with proven cleaning and disinfecting methods to keep your surgical facility impeccably clean. It includes an in-depth understanding of proper sterile room cleaning and disinfection procedures. Technicians who earn their certification also learn standard operating room procedures to prevent pathogen transmission. All the training is filtered through the use of critical thinking skills that are specific to operating rooms, surgical theaters, and other critical patient treatment areas.
Final CSCT certification is then only given to individuals who demonstrate an in-depth knowledge of the high standards of surgical cleaning during an intensive three-day workshop.
A Certified Case Manager
Having a case manager who carries an active Certificate of Mastery in Infection Prevention (CMIP) overseeing your surgical sites and patient treatment areas ensures airtight oversight. This means that you will have cleaning professionals assigned to your hospital who are imbued with vast knowledge in microbiology, training, medical cleaning standards, and state-of-the-art surgical cleaning procedures.
It’s also worth bearing in mind that the certification process for an individual to become a CMIP requires the completion of a rigorous, three-phase program. During each phase, they are taught how to facilitate infection prevention care, as well as how to train fellow cleaning staff on infection prevention, and auditing procedures. In this way, CMIP managers are vital to achieving a safe, disinfected surgical room.
Expert Training In Sanitation Procedures
Operating rooms, surgical theaters, and other patient treatment areas inevitably require the highest sanitization procedures to effectively eliminate the presence of pathogenic microbes. Without these exacting protocols, critically vulnerable patients would be at high risk of exposure to harmful pathogens.
To eliminate the risk of inadequate disinfection, a professional cleaning company should offer expert training programs to all of their staff who might be assigned to your hospital. This includes training backup staff should one of your dedicated cleaning professionals call in sick or go on vacation
Infection control and pathogenic elimination continue to evolve. never stops evolving, so make sure you find a cleaning company that is continually looking for trends, changes, and updates on how to best mitigate the transmission of pathogens. A cleaning company that offers continuing education for all technicians demonstrates the highest level of commitment to these principles.
Demonstrate an Active Commitment to Safety
Of course, having managers and dedicated cleaning technicians who are fully certified and trained in surgical cleaning procedures is just one of several critical components. You also want to see that the cleaning company’s vetting process is rigorous in finding the most reputable surgical cleaners. This includes things like background checks and other safety protocols.
Then they also need to be supplied with the right materials to improve the efficacy and safety of all disinfectants. This ensures that all surgical and treatment environments are clean of common pathogens and free from any cross-contamination concerns. This includes the use of surgical-grade disinfectant products and procedures.
Providing Emergency Access Services
The truth is that surgical facilities, emergency rooms, and other emergency treatment clinics never stop working, and your hospital or clinic will need a reliable surgical cleaner who can keep up with this level of demand. Especially if there is a natural disaster or a local event that drives up the need for emergency medical services.
This means you need to partner with a surgical cleaning company that offers 24/7 emergency services to ensure safety for all patients who need treatment
