Healthcare Surfaces
Institute Tackling
Tough Issues Around
Surface Compatibility
By Kelly M. Pyrek
S
urfaces matter in the healthcare environment, but they
are often some of the most neglected objects in the
healthcare environment – especially from the perspective of
how they interact with chemical cleaners and disinfectants.
“Surfaces are fomites and contribute to the spread of
microbes that cause deadly infection,” confirms Linda Lybert,
founder and executive director of the Healthcare Surfaces
Institute, who delivered an overview of the issue at HSI’s
annual meeting held March 3-4, 2020 at the UT Health School
of Public Health Cooley Science Center in Houston, Texas.
“The coronavirus has brought this fact to the forefront of
everyone’s mind, yet this is complex issue is misunderstood.
There are so many different types of surfaces materials and
textiles the question becomes can these surfaces be cleaned
and disinfected the same way. This is not a question that is
currently being asked.”
“Most people don’t realize how many surfaces there are
in the healthcare environment, and the infection prevention
impact they have,” Lybert adds. “Damage that is occurring
from routine cleaning and disinfection is creating reservoirs
for microbes to harbor out of reach of biocides used to
kill them. Surfaces are always out there and help spread
transmission, and they are critical to preventing infections.”
The Healthcare Surfaces Institute is using its annual
meeting to launch a number of initiatives and a slate of
educational offerings that will help healthcare stakeholders
make sense of complex issues such as surface compatibility.
“5, 4, 3, 2, 1... Houston, we have the launch of an
informed, engaged, determined and dedicated team of
professionals looking for real-world solutions to real-world
problems that surface materials pose in maintaining a safe,
clean and disinfected environment for patients and staff in the
healthcare environment,” says Darrel Hicks, past-president
and board member of the Healthcare Surfaces Institute.
In 20 years of consulting at hospitals, Lybert says she has
seen serious issues from surface materials that simply can’t
be cleaned let alone disinfected to significant damage to
Top: Linda
Lybert, founder
and executive
director of the
Healthcare
Surfaces
Institute. Below:
From left:
Amber Mitchell,
Caroline Etland,
Darrel HIcks
surfaces and medical equipment which jeopardize the safety and Joanna
of healthcare workers and patients.
Mills.
“The majority of surfaces are difficult, if not impossible
to clean,” Lybert explains. “They support the transmission
of microbes, and potentially disease-causing pathogens are
finding safe harbor on those surfaces. During renovation
projects at hospitals, I have seen first-hand many types of
mold and the evidence of other pathogens when areas
taken apart during renovation. People are looking at this
issue at the macro level, but we need to look at it on the
micro level. The Healthcare Surfaces Institute is gathering
like-minded experts who will be conducting research into
this critical issue.”
In her presentation at the HSI annual meeting and
workshops, Lybert reviewed the complex issues associated
with surfaces and gave a high level overview of the compre-
hensive literature review completed in 2018, she outlined
the repercussions relating to the lack of testing guidelines
and selection current requirements for surfaces being used in
manufacturing and in the built environment in the healthcare
sector. She addressed the real-life challenges experienced
by healthcare facilities and professionals and the way they
often are set up for failure as they strive to in reducing risks
for patients, healthcare workers and the general public by
mitigating surface-related HAIs.
“Part of the Institute’s purpose is to raise awareness about
these issues and address gaps between real-life scenarios in
the healthcare environment and current test methods for
surface and equipment materials,” Lybert says. “Labs test the
materials in limited ways which doesn’t provide insight into
the reality of rigorous cleaning and disinfection requirements
often found in infection prevention protocols and processes.
What’s happening with surface materials in the real-world
healthcare setting is often unknown. The Institute’s goal
is to empower healthcare professionals to ask important
questions and gather the information and data they need.
Accessing and understanding manufacturer warnings will
provide additional insight about types of disinfectants that
can be used. We are also here to empower manufacturers
understand the testing data healthcare providers need
and to understand these foundational issues and provide
solutions. Manufacturers are solution providers and they
want to create safe surfaces, products and equipment
From left: Glenda Schuh, Syed and Parveen Sattar
38
april 2020 • www.healthcarehygienemagazine.com