less."
When it comes to
surface disinfection,
verification is key.
Administrators at Yale
New Haven monitor
staff performance by
marking 17 high-
touchpoints — based
on CDC recommenda-
tions — with Tide
pens. They then use black lights to make sure staff cleaned those
areas. "The CDC recommends recleaning the room if three or more
points still have a mark," says Mr. Branch. "We were exceeding our
internal goals after just six months and went to a one touchpoint stan-
dard," says Mr. Branch.
While it might seem like adopting such a rigorous surface disinfec-
tion policy would result in longer room turnover times, that's not the
case. "We're a very busy hospital, and it does not slow us down," says
Mr. Caruso.
The key to maintaining a highly effective disinfection standard is
consistent communication and teamwork among your staff. "Our
supervisors and frontline staff work seamlessly together to make our
process work, and also coordinate with our capacity command cen-
ter, which is the group that oversees patient flow for the entire hospi-
tal," adds Mr. Caruso.
Beyond the OR
Cross-contamination and infection among staff is always a risk in any
medical facility, but with the current strain on healthcare systems and
M A Y 2 0 2 0 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y. N E T • 4 9
• EXTRA HELP Ultraviolet light technology can kill most pathogens in the OR, includ-
ing multidrug-resistant superbugs.
