Sanitization and Disinfection in Healthcare
Practicing proper sanitization is becoming increasingly important in healthcare settings as workflows and procedures evolve. It’s becoming a well-known fact that your hands are only as clean as the things you touch immediately after. As healthcare becomes more technologically focused with digital check-in systems and charting, it’s important to make sure these devices are not a vector for disease transmission.
CleanSlate UV is a biosafety company that harnesses the power of UV light to sanitize mobile devices and other hand held items. It fits smoothly into existing workflows by amplifying hand hygiene practices. This is best achieved with proper, strategic placement.
Placement of CleanSlate UV
CleanSlate UV is best when it is used in conjunction with hand hygiene. As we mentioned earlier, your hands are only as clean as the devices you touch. For this reason, CleanSlate UV was intelligently developed to fit into a hand sanitization workflow. Simply place your devices in the CleanSlate UV, sanitize your hands and the lid will automatically open when it is done it’s 20 second cycle.
To achieve the most optimal clean work environment and limit the spread of infectious diseases, it is recommended to have CleanSlate UVs in all high-traffic areas where hand hygiene is encouraged:
1. Entrances and Exits. A single doorknob or handle could potentially be the cause of a widespread illness in the healthcare setting. Placing a CleanSlate device near hand sanitizers at entrances and exits (main rooms and patient rooms) could help limit the spread of infection.
2. Cafeterias, food courts, and break rooms. Where food can be consumed with hands and patients/staff use their cell phones, CleanSlate UV in combination with hand sanitizer can be useful in helping eliminate germs in these areas.
3. Elevators and touch screens: Elevator buttons and keypads or touch screens provide lots of crevices for germs to hide and are often in high traffic areas. Placing CleanSlate UV next to these could help reduce germs.
4. Meeting and conference rooms. Meeting rooms contain multi-use, high touch surfaces and attract people from around the hospital and even other places. Placing CleanSlate UV near the room entrance door or at the meeting room table, will allow attendees to sanitize their cell phones before and after the meeting/event takes place.
5. Reception, help desks, and/or nursing stations. Reception desks are not only high-traffic but they are increasingly becoming more technologically focused with digital check-ins. It is crucial to break the chain of infection here and be sure the devices are sanitized in between use.
6. Areas where healthcare personnel are required to perform hand hygiene in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Joint Commission recommendations. Typically, this involves hand hygiene immediately before and after touching a patient in and around patient rooms.
7. Other locations: transaction counters, gift shops, satellite cafes within the hospital where quick financial transactions occur. Bank notes have been shown to carry pathogenic bacteria and encouraging people to engage in hand and device hygiene while conducting financial transactions is a good idea. Restrooms may also be considered in areas where infection control protocols are strengthened.
A few other helpful tips to make sure the CleanSlate UV is being used frequently and effectively are:
1. Locate the CleanSlate near high touch surfaces or products (ie, mobile device or tablet storage)
2. Use signage to capture attention and provide direction
3. Place the CleanSlate in a highly visible location
4. Follow the existing pattern of workflow
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