In the past several years, doctors have noticed an increase in “superbugs,” or infections that are resistant to antibiotics and therefore hard to cure. This makes prevention of these infections even more important, and janitorial services play an important role in prevention.
Infections expert Darrel Hicks noted that doctors sometimes forget that the room a patient is in and the surfaces they touch matter just as much in prevention as those steps taken directly with regards to the patients themselves.
In the same post, Hicks said, One well-trained, conscientious hygiene specialist, given the proper tools, time and cleaning chemistry can prevent more infections than a room full of doctors can cure.”
How Germs Spread
The path of germs starts with the infected person. Direct contact with the sick person can result in spreading the infection, but so can indirect contact, like touching a surface the sick person has touched.
Sometimes we may think this transference isn’t as bad as direct contact, but while it’s not as guaranteed as face-to-face time with the infected person, the germs there are just as real. Some viruses have even been proven to survive on hard surfaces up to 48 hours after original contact.
Why Commercial Cleaning Works
The reasons commercial cleaning works so well to prevent infections in healthcare environment comes down to focus and expertise. Here are some specifics:
- Commercial cleaners are focused on getting the surfaces and room as clean as possible without being distracted by other factors.
- There’s a level of expertise in cleaning even the best doctors and nurses don’t have that comes specifically from training in the industry.
- The tools and tricks that work for helping people prevent the spreading of germs work different when it comes to objects.
- Professional janitors know what to look for in terms of what is clean and what only appears to be clean.
While it may be sometimes overlooked, healthcare cleaning plays an amazingly important role in preventing infections and outbreaks.