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Training your housekeeping staff on infection control

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, May 24, 2007

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A hospital's housekeepers are critical players when it comes to preventing infections, but trainers may find themselves having to swim upstream against ingrained assumptions about cleanliness or language barriers. For example, it may be a difficult task to explain to a new employee why something as seemingly harmless as carrying food or drink on a cleaning cart can pose a problem.

New hires at BryanLGH Medical Center in Lincoln, NE, undergo a structured, one-on-one department orientation comprised of classroom instruction, hands-on demonstration, and direct observation for five days. Trainers begin by teaching new employees the difference between clean and contaminated items and areas. Training also focuses on the following:

• Body substance isolation precautions and the need for protection from exposure to blood and body fluids
• Proper hand washing, which is emphasized as the most effective method to prevent spreading harmful organisms from one location or person to another
• The importance of thoroughly cleaning high-touch surfaces, such as call lights, bed controls, side rails, door knobs, and phones

To get more information, go to Briefings on Infection Control (BOIC). For the cost of just three stories, you can get the entire May issue of BOIC. Click here to choose between the PDF and HTML versions for just $30. Subscribers to the online version of BOIC have free access to this article. Subscribers to the print newsletter can find this article in their May issue.

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