We conducted extensive literature reviews to get the science together to examine where the failures in cleaning and disinfection are , how cleaning solutions get contaminated during the cleaning process , how to make your cleaning and disinfection processes more efficient .”

— Matt Arduino , PhD

environment . While completing his doctorate degree Arduino was able to conduct his research at the CDC , and in 1988 while he was writing his dissertation , he joined the Hospital Infections Program which later became the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion and was tapped to focus on environmental infection control .

Arduino recalls some of the challenges in healthcare that existed prior to and around the time of the release of the EIC guideline .

“ During my career at the CDC I performed a great deal of laboratory support of outbreak investigations and what we have seen during those outbreak investigations from the 1980s through today is , we see lots of failures in infection control related to the healthcare environment . Some of this has to do with the role of the environment or the failure of cleaning processes , the failure of reprocessing of instruments or in the old days , sometimes it was the failure to perform hand hygiene . As we discussed the importance of cleaning and disinfection of surfaces , along the way several things happened ; we experienced the HIV epidemic . We had single-use devices that were improperly processed and then reused , which caused infections . We also began to see outsourcing occur in healthcare , where certain services were no longer supported by the hospital ; instead , they were sent to outside contractors . So , things began to change in the industry and sometimes responsibilities shifted .”

Arduino continues , “ I remember one outbreak that was tied to a portable X-ray machine . We launched an investigation and examined the machine , which obviously hadn ’ t been cleaned . So , we started asking , ‘ Whose responsibility is it to clean this machine ?’ EVS said it was nursing ’ s responsibility , while nursing told us , ‘ Oh , we don ’ t clean anything , that ’ s the responsibility of EVS .’ Everybody pointed to everyone else , because no one wanted to take responsibility for cleaning that piece of equipment .”

He says it was similar to his time spent in outpatient dialysis , where it was the nurses and techs who performed the procedures , “ But when I asked who was responsible for cleaning the device between patients , it was the same problem of no accountability . When it comes to medical equipment that ’ s being used in the patient room , if it ’ s being used by a clinical person , that individual should clean that device before it ’ s used on another patient , or

The Infection Prevention Exchange

By MD-Medical Data Quality & Safety Advisors , LLC

The IPEX Bundle

• Data

• Process Improvement

• Technology • Artificial Intelligence

Patient & Staff Safety

Patient Satisfaction Scores improved LeapFrog Scores improved

Financial & Operational Efficiencies 50-75 % Reductions in cost of infection

HEALTHCARE-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONS

Contact Tracing

50-75 % Reductions in infections

Inquiries : Medicaldatamanagement @ gmail . com