Hospitals need professional cleaning services for infection control, regulatory compliance, and patient safety. Professional cleaning service providers offer expertise and specialization to ensure a completely sanitized facility.
Specialists use advanced equipment and customized cleaning plans, creating a safer and more efficient healthcare facility.
What are Hospital Cleaning Services?
Hospital cleaning services are specialized solutions tailored for healthcare facilities. They help ensure compliance with regulations, infection control, and the safety of patients and staff.
Professional cleaning service providers offer customized plans, advanced equipment, and trained personnel to clean thoroughly and reduce healthcare-associated infections.
Outsourcing cleaning services to cleaning professionals, like JAN-PRO Commercial Cleaning certified franchisees, enhances the well-being of patients and on-site staff.
We provide efficient and cost-effective solutions for hospitals and other healthcare facilities, allowing administrators to focus on delivering quality healthcare services confidently in a clean and hygienic environment.
Hospital Cleaning vs. Housekeeping Services
Hospital cleaning is a more specialized service than commercial housekeeping due to the strict regulations within the healthcare industry. Here are some of the differences between these two services:
Scope and Specialization
Hospital cleaning usually focuses on infection control and sanitization of medical environments, involving specialized cleaning protocols to meet healthcare standards. On the other hand, housekeeping services generally cover basic cleaning tasks in non-medical commercial settings without the same rigorous health and safety requirements.
Regulatory Compliance
Hospitals must adhere to stringent regulations and guidelines from health authorities to ensure patient safety and prevent healthcare-associated infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have provided strict guidelines for sterilization and disinfection. On the other hand, commercial housekeeping services do not require compliance with such specific healthcare regulations.
Training and Expertise
Hospital cleaning staff receive extensive training on handling biohazardous materials, using hospital-grade disinfectants, and following strict hygiene protocols. Housekeeping staff typically have general cleaning skills suited for less critical environments.
Equipment and Products
Hospital cleaning uses advanced equipment like HEPA-filtered vacuums, UV disinfection systems, and specialized disinfectants. The Journal of Hospital Infection has outlined the use of disinfectants such as amine, oxidatives, chlorine, alcohol, aldehyde, and other solutions for healthcare facilities.
Housekeeping relies on standard cleaning tools and products appropriate for everyday cleaning tasks.
Frequency and Detail
Hospital cleaning often involves more frequent and detailed cleaning routines, especially in high-risk areas like operating rooms and intensive care units. Housekeeping typically follows a regular schedule for maintaining general cleanliness.
Remember that hospital cleaning is a specialized, regulated service that maintains a safe healthcare environment. At the same time, housekeeping encompasses general cleaning tasks for non-medical settings.
7 Steps of Hospital Cleaning
Professional hospital cleaning services use a streamlined process to ensure efficient cleaning, disinfecting, and sanitizing of hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Here are seven general steps that they may use.
Note that some professional cleaners may add other steps to fit their clients’ needs.
1. Create a Cleaning Schedule
The first step is to work with clients to develop a detailed cleaning plan tailored to their needs. This plan specifies areas to be cleaned, frequency, and cleaning methods, incorporating guidelines from organizations like CDC, EPA, and OSHA.
This schedule ensures comprehensive and consistent cleaning protocols.
2. Dispose of Trash Properly
Empty garbage bags and liners, sanitize the bins and replace them with new liners. Proper disposal of medical waste is crucial, including segregation and disposal of general, infectious, and hazardous waste.
3. Dust and Clean High Areas First
The cleaning and dusting process should begin with higher areas. Surfaces above shoulder level should be cleaned systematically (clockwise or counter-clockwise). This step prevents debris from falling onto already-cleaned lower surfaces.
4. Prioritize High-Touch Surfaces
High-touch surfaces tend to be critical areas for infection and the spread of diseases in healthcare facilities, making them a priority for any cleaning protocol.
Use EPA-approved disinfectants to clean and disinfect high-touch areas like doorknobs, bed rails, and medical equipment multiple times daily. This reduces the risk of contamination and infection.
5. Damp Wipe Surfaces
Wipe down all high-touch and horizontal surfaces with a damp cloth and neutral disinfectant, excluding glass surfaces. This step is vital for eliminating bacteria and ensuring a hygienic environment.
6. Clean Floor Levels
Dust or dry mop floors to remove debris. Follow this with a wet mop using a neutral or diluted cleaner. Mop from the edges inward to minimize contamination and leave floors to air dry.
7. Inspect and Restock
After cleaning, inspect the area for missed spots or damages and report any issues to hospital management. Restock essential items like toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizers, and soap to maintain hygiene standards.
These steps ensure that hospital environments are thoroughly cleaned, sanitized, and maintained. Other steps may be incorporated into the hospital cleaning process, minimizing the risk of infection and promoting a safe and healthy setting for patients, staff, and visitors.
How Often Are Hospitals Cleaned?
The cleaning schedules in a hospital vary in frequency by the type of area being treated. The schedule will also vary by cleaning method. For reference, here are the differences between various processes:
Cleaning
This is the process of removing dirt, dust, and debris from surfaces using soap or detergents and water. It does not kill germs.
Sanitizing
This is the process of removing dirt, dust, and debris from surfaces using soap or detergents and water. It does not kill germs.
Disinfecting
Killing nearly all germs and pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, and fungus, on surfaces using strong chemicals, ensuring a higher level of cleanliness than sanitizing.
Here is a sample cleaning schedule that hospitals can use:
- Examination and Consultation Areas: Clean twice daily. High-touch areas and floors should be cleaned thoroughly.
- Admission and Waiting Areas: Clean once every 24 hours. Pay special attention to high-touch surfaces and floors.
- Operative Procedural Areas: Clean and disinfect before and after use. In cases where there is a high risk of dispersal or prolonged time between procedures, surfaces need to be wiped using a disinfectant solution immediately before the next procedure is performed. These areas should also be cleaned and disinfected at the end of the day. Ensure all patient zones and procedural tables are thoroughly cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected.
Some areas in a hospital, like the cleaning supplies storage area, mess hall, and common rooms, will have their own cleaning schedules determined by hospital management.
Some areas and surfaces that aren’t as critical as the ones mentioned above may only need to be cleaned, sanitized, and disinfected once a week, while others, like parking lots and other non-critical areas, can be sanitized on a monthly basis.
What Are the Different Types of Cleaning in a Hospital?
Hospitals have several different classifications of cleaning for their patient rooms: turnover, occupied, and terminal. Each classification has a different cleaning procedure to ensure the well-being of the patients and other occupants.
Occupied Room Cleaning
Occupied room cleaning in a hospital involves maintaining the cleanliness and hygiene in rooms with current patients.
This is performed daily or as needed. Tasks include emptying the trash, wiping surfaces, sanitizing high-touch areas (like bed rails, light switches, and doorknobs), restocking supplies, and spot-cleaning floors.
This procedure ensures a comfortable and safe environment for ongoing patient care without major disruption.
Turnover Cleaning
Turnover cleaning prepares a room for a new patient after the previous patient has been discharged. This process is performed immediately after the previous patient leaves the area before a new admission.
This type of cleaning requires a more extensive sanitation process than cleaning an occupied room. It involves removing all used linens, disinfecting the entire room (bed, furniture, and bathroom), and thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces and equipment.
Restocking supplies and replacing bed linens are also part of this process.
Terminal Cleaning
Terminal cleaning in a hospital involves deep cleaning to thoroughly disinfect a room after a patient with an infectious disease or after a set period. It is to be conducted regularly or as needed, particularly after a patient with an infection has occupied the room.
The tasks involved in this procedure include a comprehensive cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces, including walls, ceilings, floors, medical equipment, and ventilation systems. This process ensures the room is free of pathogens and safe for the next occupant.
Reliable Professional Cleaning Solutions for Your Healthcare Facility
JAN-PRO Commercial Cleaning offers professional cleaning solutions for your healthcare facility. Our certified cleaning franchisees use EPA-approved, hospital-grade disinfectants to thoroughly clean your premises, ensuring a safe environment for patients, visitors, and staff.
Contact JAN-PRO Commercial Cleaning and schedule a free estimate today.
Cleaning and disinfecting services provided by independently owned and operated JAN-PRO Cleaning & Disinfecting franchisees.