Environmental Cleaning Tool Kit
Funded through the AORN Foundation and supported by a grant from Ecolab
Cleaning Basics
Module 1
AORN Environmental Cleaning
Toolkit
Objectives
Upon completion of this module, participants will be
able to
- define standard precautions;
- describe appropriate cleaning methods;
- explain the chain of infection;
- state high-touch objects in the perioperative
environment;
- describe how often cleaning should occur, and;
- state the recommended chemicals, tools, and
equipment used for cleaning.
Cleaning Precautions
• The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regulates the
bloodborne pathogens standard to protect all
health care workers from exposure to germs
that can be spread in blood and body fluids
• Team members must wear protection during
cleaning in the perioperative area to avoid
coming in contact with any potentially
infectious substance
- this is called standard precautions
Standard Precautions
• Team members
cleaning
contaminated
surfaces must wear
personal protective
equipment (PPE)
Types of PPE - Gloves
• Team members must wear gloves when
- you might come in contact with blood, bodily
fluids, or other potentially infectious material
- while touching or handling contaminated items or
surfaces
Types of PPE – Face Protection
• Team members must
wear masks, eye
protection, and face
shields when
- you might come in
contact with
• splashes
• sprays, splatter, or droplets
of blood
• bodily fluids, or other
potentially contaminated
materials
Hand Hygiene
• Hand hygiene must always be performed
- when you remove PPE
- as soon as possible after hands are soiled
Definitions
• Clean
- the absence of visible dust, soil, debris, blood, or other
potentially infectious material
• Disinfection
- a process that kills most forms of microorganisms on
inanimate surfaces
Definitions
• High-touch objects
- frequently touched items or surfaces
• Dwell time
- the amount of time required for contact of a
chemical agent with a surface
Definitions
• Terminal cleaning
• thorough environmental cleaning that is performed at
the end of each day when the area is being used
• Turnover clean
• cleaning and disinfecting done to a room between
patients throughout the day
Why is cleaning important?
• There is a high risk for spreading germs in the
perioperative environment
- common equipment used on every patient
- team members touch the patient, touch
equipment, then touch the patient again
- patient is at higher risk for infection because of
surgery
Microorganism
Reservoir
Portal of Exit
Means of
Transmission
Portal of Entry
Susceptible
Host
Chain of Infection
Why is cleaning important?
• Cleaning environmental
surfaces decreases the
amount of germs in the
area around the patient
• Decreases the chances
of our patients having a
health care-associated
infection (HAI) after
surgery
How often should we clean?
• Always follow your health care facility’s policy
regarding frequency of cleaning patient rooms
- terminally clean all patient rooms terminally daily
if being used
- clean every room between patients, especially
high-touch objects
- damp dust horizontal surfaces at the beginning of
the day
Cleaning Schedule
• Areas and equipment that are not terminally cleaned daily
will be cleaned according to your facility’s schedule (weekly
or monthly)
- ventilation ducts
- clean and soiled utility rooms
- sterile storage areas
- sterilizers
- lounges
- refrigerators
• Always follow your facility’s specific policy for cleaning
these areas
• Document your cleaning on your facility’s cleaning log
Types of Environmental Cleaning
• Terminal cleaning
• Damp dusting
• Turnover cleaning
Types of Cleaning
• Terminal cleaning
- performed every day when the room is being used
- Involves
• cleaning and disinfecting of all exposed surfaces,
including wheels and casters, of all equipment
• cleaning and disinfecting the floor with a wet vacuum or
single-use mop
• moving equipment around the room to clean the floor
underneath
Types of Cleaning
• Damp dusting
- use a clean, low-linting cloth
moistened with disinfectant
- damp dust first thing in the
morning before additional items
or equipment are brought into
the room
- damp dust from top to bottom
• Why damp dust?
- removes dust from horizontal
surfaces
Types of Cleaning
• Turnover cleaning
- patient rooms must be cleaned after each patient
- high-touch objects and equipment
- contamination of items that are frequently
touched can lead to contaminated hands for
health care personnel
High Touch Objects
• High-touch objects are
- anesthesia machine, carts, and equipment
- call lights
- IV poles and pumps
- OR bed
- over-bed tables
- patient beds
- patient monitors
- reusable table straps (safety straps)
- television remote controls
Cleaning
in the OR or Procedure Room
Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices.
Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
Cleaning
in the OR or Procedure Room
Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices.
Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
Cleaning in the Preoperative and
Postoperative Patient Care Areas
Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices.
Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
Cleaning in the Preoperative and
Postoperative Patient Care Areas
Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices.
Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
Cleaning in Sterile Storage Areas
Cleaning in the Clean Packing Area
Cleaning in the Sterile Processing Areas
Decontamination Area
Floor Cleaning
• Clean and disinfect the floor surfaces at the
- edge of the room first
- moving toward the center of the room
• The center of the room is where most patient
care happens
- the center is likely to be dirtier
Cleaning Chemicals
• Always follow
- your facility’s policy when using
cleaning and disinfecting
chemicals in your facility
- the manufacturer’s instructions
for use
Cleaning Chemicals
• You will need to know and be able to tell
others
- if the chemical is approved for use at your facility
- what the “dwell time” is for the product
- how to mix the product (if needed)
- how long the chemical can be used before
needing to be replaced
- how to label the chemical
Cleaning Tools and Equipment
• The tools and equipment you will use to clean
your facility may vary based on what your
facility provides
- reusable or single-use mops
- microfiber cloths
- single-use wipes
• Do not use spray bottles for cleaning surfaces
- they could cause germs to go into the air
Cleaning Tools and Equipment
“Courtesy of Ecolab® Inc.”
Cleaning Tools and Equipment
Resources
Association for the Healthcare Environment of the American Hospital
Association. Practice Guidance for Healthcare Environmental Cleaning.
2nd ed. Chicago, IL: American Hospital Association; 2012.
Recommended practices for environmental cleaning. In: Perioperative
Standards and Recommended Practices. Denver, CO: AORN, Inc;
2014:255-276.
Sehulster LM, Chinn RYW, Arduino MJ, et al. Guidelines for Environmental
Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities. Chicago IL; American Society
for Healthcare Engineering/American Hospital Association; 2004.
http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pdf/guidelines/eic_in_hcf_03.pdf Accessed
January 13, 2014.

AORN 1-Environmental Cleaning, Basics.pptx

  • 1.
    Environmental Cleaning ToolKit Funded through the AORN Foundation and supported by a grant from Ecolab Cleaning Basics Module 1
  • 2.
  • 3.
    Objectives Upon completion ofthis module, participants will be able to - define standard precautions; - describe appropriate cleaning methods; - explain the chain of infection; - state high-touch objects in the perioperative environment; - describe how often cleaning should occur, and; - state the recommended chemicals, tools, and equipment used for cleaning.
  • 4.
    Cleaning Precautions • TheOccupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulates the bloodborne pathogens standard to protect all health care workers from exposure to germs that can be spread in blood and body fluids • Team members must wear protection during cleaning in the perioperative area to avoid coming in contact with any potentially infectious substance - this is called standard precautions
  • 5.
    Standard Precautions • Teammembers cleaning contaminated surfaces must wear personal protective equipment (PPE)
  • 6.
    Types of PPE- Gloves • Team members must wear gloves when - you might come in contact with blood, bodily fluids, or other potentially infectious material - while touching or handling contaminated items or surfaces
  • 7.
    Types of PPE– Face Protection • Team members must wear masks, eye protection, and face shields when - you might come in contact with • splashes • sprays, splatter, or droplets of blood • bodily fluids, or other potentially contaminated materials
  • 8.
    Hand Hygiene • Handhygiene must always be performed - when you remove PPE - as soon as possible after hands are soiled
  • 9.
    Definitions • Clean - theabsence of visible dust, soil, debris, blood, or other potentially infectious material • Disinfection - a process that kills most forms of microorganisms on inanimate surfaces
  • 10.
    Definitions • High-touch objects -frequently touched items or surfaces • Dwell time - the amount of time required for contact of a chemical agent with a surface
  • 11.
    Definitions • Terminal cleaning •thorough environmental cleaning that is performed at the end of each day when the area is being used • Turnover clean • cleaning and disinfecting done to a room between patients throughout the day
  • 12.
    Why is cleaningimportant? • There is a high risk for spreading germs in the perioperative environment - common equipment used on every patient - team members touch the patient, touch equipment, then touch the patient again - patient is at higher risk for infection because of surgery
  • 13.
    Microorganism Reservoir Portal of Exit Meansof Transmission Portal of Entry Susceptible Host Chain of Infection
  • 14.
    Why is cleaningimportant? • Cleaning environmental surfaces decreases the amount of germs in the area around the patient • Decreases the chances of our patients having a health care-associated infection (HAI) after surgery
  • 15.
    How often shouldwe clean? • Always follow your health care facility’s policy regarding frequency of cleaning patient rooms - terminally clean all patient rooms terminally daily if being used - clean every room between patients, especially high-touch objects - damp dust horizontal surfaces at the beginning of the day
  • 16.
    Cleaning Schedule • Areasand equipment that are not terminally cleaned daily will be cleaned according to your facility’s schedule (weekly or monthly) - ventilation ducts - clean and soiled utility rooms - sterile storage areas - sterilizers - lounges - refrigerators • Always follow your facility’s specific policy for cleaning these areas • Document your cleaning on your facility’s cleaning log
  • 17.
    Types of EnvironmentalCleaning • Terminal cleaning • Damp dusting • Turnover cleaning
  • 18.
    Types of Cleaning •Terminal cleaning - performed every day when the room is being used - Involves • cleaning and disinfecting of all exposed surfaces, including wheels and casters, of all equipment • cleaning and disinfecting the floor with a wet vacuum or single-use mop • moving equipment around the room to clean the floor underneath
  • 19.
    Types of Cleaning •Damp dusting - use a clean, low-linting cloth moistened with disinfectant - damp dust first thing in the morning before additional items or equipment are brought into the room - damp dust from top to bottom • Why damp dust? - removes dust from horizontal surfaces
  • 20.
    Types of Cleaning •Turnover cleaning - patient rooms must be cleaned after each patient - high-touch objects and equipment - contamination of items that are frequently touched can lead to contaminated hands for health care personnel
  • 21.
    High Touch Objects •High-touch objects are - anesthesia machine, carts, and equipment - call lights - IV poles and pumps - OR bed - over-bed tables - patient beds - patient monitors - reusable table straps (safety straps) - television remote controls
  • 22.
    Cleaning in the ORor Procedure Room Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
  • 23.
    Cleaning in the ORor Procedure Room Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
  • 24.
    Cleaning in thePreoperative and Postoperative Patient Care Areas Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
  • 25.
    Cleaning in thePreoperative and Postoperative Patient Care Areas Adapted with permission from Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Copyright © 2014, AORN, Inc, 2170 S. Parker Road, Suite 400, Denver, CO 80231. All rights reserved.
  • 26.
    Cleaning in SterileStorage Areas
  • 27.
    Cleaning in theClean Packing Area
  • 28.
    Cleaning in theSterile Processing Areas Decontamination Area
  • 29.
    Floor Cleaning • Cleanand disinfect the floor surfaces at the - edge of the room first - moving toward the center of the room • The center of the room is where most patient care happens - the center is likely to be dirtier
  • 30.
    Cleaning Chemicals • Alwaysfollow - your facility’s policy when using cleaning and disinfecting chemicals in your facility - the manufacturer’s instructions for use
  • 31.
    Cleaning Chemicals • Youwill need to know and be able to tell others - if the chemical is approved for use at your facility - what the “dwell time” is for the product - how to mix the product (if needed) - how long the chemical can be used before needing to be replaced - how to label the chemical
  • 32.
    Cleaning Tools andEquipment • The tools and equipment you will use to clean your facility may vary based on what your facility provides - reusable or single-use mops - microfiber cloths - single-use wipes • Do not use spray bottles for cleaning surfaces - they could cause germs to go into the air
  • 33.
    Cleaning Tools andEquipment “Courtesy of Ecolab® Inc.”
  • 34.
  • 35.
    Resources Association for theHealthcare Environment of the American Hospital Association. Practice Guidance for Healthcare Environmental Cleaning. 2nd ed. Chicago, IL: American Hospital Association; 2012. Recommended practices for environmental cleaning. In: Perioperative Standards and Recommended Practices. Denver, CO: AORN, Inc; 2014:255-276. Sehulster LM, Chinn RYW, Arduino MJ, et al. Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Health-Care Facilities. Chicago IL; American Society for Healthcare Engineering/American Hospital Association; 2004. http://www.cdc.gov/hicpac/pdf/guidelines/eic_in_hcf_03.pdf Accessed January 13, 2014.

Editor's Notes

  • #5 Provide a copy of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen standard now. Ask personnel if they have heard this information before. Have personnel share what this means to them.
  • #6 Refer to OSHA BBP Standard and your facility based policy here.
  • #8 Explain to personnel why this is important. Provide examples of when masks, eye protection, and face shields must be worn.
  • #9 Discuss with personnel that hand hygiene is the number one way to stop the spread of infection. Lack of proper hand hygiene can not only potentially infect the personnel, but other patients if a microorganism is on their hands. Talk about hand hygiene using alcohol based hand rubs and traditional hand washing with soap and water. If hands are visibly soiled, washing hands with soap and water is required.
  • #10 Go through definitions with personnel as an introduction to terminology that will be presented later in the session.
  • #11 Go through definitions with personnel as an introduction to terminology that will be presented later in the session.
  • #13 In the procedural areas, the patient is the center of activity. Personnel come in and out of the room where the patient is being cared for; nurses, doctors, family and friends. As the patient moves through Pre-op, OR, PACU, and Post-op, he or she moves several times during the process, from room to room. One room may have several patients come in for care during one day. This is different than in an inpatient room, where the patient stays in one place most of the time. Because the equipment stays in each room, numerous patients could be touched with the same equipment during a day. The only way to keep each patient from coming in contact with the germs from the last patient is to thoroughly clean the equipment between patients. Patients coming in for surgery are at a higher risk for infection because their normal barrier to infection, their skin, may be cut during surgery. Surgery is a stressful time for patients, and the physical stress of surgery to the body can also increase the risk of infection.
  • #14 The chain of transmission is a series of well defined events or entities that need to occur in a pattern for an infection to happen. We can decrease the chance of a patient getting an infection by breaking any one of the links in this chain. (describe the links) By targeting the means of transmission (the way germs get around) and the reservoir (hiding places where germs can live on surfaces) we decrease the amount of infectious agents (the germs) before they can ever reach the susceptible host (the patient who could get sick).
  • #15 Every patient should be provided with a clean, safe environment.
  • #16 Identify what your facility's policy is for cleaning in the perioperative environment and share your policy with personnel during this slide. Also inform personnel where they can go to find the policy in their unit. Damp dusting is normally done by the perioperative personnel, but environmental services personnel should know what damp dusting is and how it is done.
  • #17 These items are not in the patient rooms within the perioperative area. Some items such as ventilation ducts and ice machines may be on a maintenance schedule through your biomedical, facilities, or maintenance departments. Coordinate your cleaning schedule with the preventative maintenance schedule, if possible. If your health care facility has a cleaning log for documentation purposes, please share a copy of this log with personnel now. Review the documentation requirements with personnel. Identify where this log is kept for personnel knowledge.
  • #18 We will discuss each of these types of cleaning in more detail on the following slides.
  • #19 More in-depth discussion regarding terminal cleaning will occur in subsequent Modules in this series. The key to remember is terminal cleaning is very thorough, involves everything in the room, both horizontal and vertical surfaces, and is performed every day the room is in use, after the last scheduled patient has received care for that day.
  • #20 This slide is for personnel information only. Most environmental services personnel will not perform damp dusting, but they should all know what this term means and the frequency of damp dusting in the operating room.
  • #21 This type of cleaning is sometimes referred to as “turn-over cleaning.” During room turn-overs between patients, personnel need to ensure all items used during the care of the last patient are cleaned and disinfected before bringing the next patient into the room. If these items are not cleaned between patients, the patient can be at an increased risk for infection.
  • #23 Discuss this slide with personnel. Have them point out objects in the picture and identify the frequency of cleaning. Make this interactive so personnel understand the purpose behind the recommended cleaning practices.
  • #24 Discuss this slide with personnel. Use this as a guide related to the order of cleaning. Dust, debris, and contaminated cleaning solutions may contaminate items below if cleaning is not performed from top-to-bottom. The reason to clean from clean-to-dirty is to avoid potentially spreading germs from dirty areas into cleaner areas. Depending on the space, a clockwise or counter-clockwise may be used, but it should never replace the foundational methods of top-to-bottom or clean-to-dirty.
  • #25 Discuss this slide with personnel. Have them point out objects in the picture and identify the frequency of cleaning. Make this interactive so personnel understand the purpose behind the recommended cleaning practices.
  • #26 Discuss this slide with personnel. Use this as a guide related to the order of cleaning. Dust, debris, and contaminated cleaning solutions may contaminate items below if cleaning is not performed from top-to-bottom. The reason to clean from clean-to-dirty is to avoid potentially spreading germs from dirty areas into cleaner areas. Depending on the space, a clockwise or counter-clockwise may be used, but it should never replace the foundational methods of top-to-bottom or clean-to-dirty.
  • #27 Discuss this slide with personnel. Have them point out objects in the picture and identify the frequency of cleaning. Make this interactive so personnel understand the purpose behind the recommended cleaning practices.
  • #28 Discuss this slide with personnel. Have them point out objects in the picture and identify the frequency of cleaning. Make this interactive so personnel understand the purpose behind the recommended cleaning practices.
  • #29 Discuss this slide with personnel. Have them point out objects in the picture and identify the frequency of cleaning. Make this interactive so personnel understand the purpose behind the recommended cleaning practices.
  • #30 Have personnel explain why this is important using the clean-to-dirty cleaning method.
  • #32 Provide specific education for personnel regarding how long each product must be on surface areas before the item is disinfected (dwell time). Include drying time in your education. Discuss if a chemical needs to be reconstituted with water before use. How much? What do you use to measure? How long can the chemical be used before it must be replaced (expiration date, daily)? This will depend on the specific product. Go over the correct labeling requirements for each product. Let personnel know that surveyors will ask personnel these questions during an on-site survey.
  • #33 Identify what types of cleaning tools and equipment your facility provides now. Talk through the processes used for disposal of the equipment once used.
  • #35 Talk about the various types of tools and equipment shown. Identify for personnel what products are used at your facility.
  • #36 Please use the above resources for additional guidance, if needed.