Healthcare Hygiene magazine spoke with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) experts , Christine Yount , MPH , REHS , an environmental health scientist , and Koo-Wang Chung , MPH , a health scientist , about their upcoming presentation at the Association for the Healthcare Environment ( AHE ) Exchange July 22-24 .

HHM Can you preview

the main points you will be addressing in your presentation at AHE ’ s Exchange conference , to get participants excited about the talk ?

Koo-Wang Chung ( K-WC ):

CDC provides critical support to healthcare facilities so they can keep their healthcare environments safe for healthcare workers and patients . Our presentation , “ CDC insights : Knowledge Gaps in Environmental Infection Prevention and Control ,” reviews high-level data on CDC inquiries related to cleaning and disinfection of healthcare environments , as well as summaries of CDC-assisted outbreak investigations in healthcare facilities . The goal of this presentation is to highlight the

types of support CDC can provide as well as how to address some of the common knowledge gaps in environmental infection prevention and control .

Christine Yount ( CY ): Environmental services ( EVS ) staff are key players in keeping the healthcare environment safe for patients . Part of that environment of care includes reducing the exposure to water-associated pathogens . The presentation , “ Ripple Effect – Leveraging EVS to Reduce the Risk of Water ,” highlights the importance of EVS having a seat on healthcare facilities ’ water management program ( WMP ) team . However , according to CDC ’ s National Healthcare Safety Network ( NHSN ) annual hospital survey , only 48 percent of hospitals with WMP have EVS as part of their multi-disciplinary team . Within the framework of EVS , this presentation will dive into the risk of water and water systems in healthcare settings , identify possible exposure pathways and routes of transmission , engaging in water management programs , and learning from water-related outbreaks and mitigation strategies .

HHM What have you seen in terms of your outbreak

investigations related to environmental hygiene that can serve as pointers for IP & C / EVS to be mindful of in their daily practice ?

K-WC : Facilities should ensure that training / competency building as well as roles and responsibilities of cleaning / disinfecting are regularly addressed as part of creating a safe care environment . We hope to dive a little deeper into these topics during the session and maybe even get a chance to have oan pen discussion with the audience about their experiences as well .

CY : Sink and sink drains have been associated with potential routes of transmission , so extra care should be taken to eliminate risk :

• Splashing from sinks can cross-contaminate surrounding surfaces , so it ’ s important that patient-care items are not stored near sinks .

• EVS personnel should clean and disinfect the sink and surrounding countertop on a routine basis .

• They should also be aware of reducing the bioburden of sink drains by not pouring any beverages down the sink .

• There are some disinfectant products on the market that are formulated to disinfect biofilm in sink drains .

“ CDC insights : Knowledge Gaps in Environmental Infection Prevention and Control ” reviews highlevel data on CDC inquires related to cleaning and disinfection of healthcare environments , as well as summaries of CDC-assisted outbreak investigations in healthcare facilities .” — Koo-Wang Chung , MPH