in the OR, and put the assignments in writ-
ing. Not having these duties clearly defined
can create confusion between your nursing
and housekeeping staffs, says Stephanie
Nester, RN. When she took over as the
infection control and quality coordinator at
Carris Health Surgery Center – Willmar
(Minn.), she found out that the OR staff
didn't know that housekeeping was clean-
ing some things weekly that they assumed
were being done daily.
To remedy this, Ms. Nester met with each
department separately to find out what
items they were cleaning and when they
were cleaning them. She then worked out a
protocol that specifically laid out what nurs-
ing staff and housekeeping would be
responsible for addressing and created logs that they could mark off
every day to help them keep track.
In the mornings, before the surgical day begins, the nursing staff
comes in and wipes down everything in the ORs and employs an
ultraviolet light whole-room disinfecting robot in each room. In
between cases, they take 10 to 15 minutes to wipe down high-touch
areas such as computers, the surgical table and any items that were
within 3 feet of the patient. Then, after the day's last case, they wipe
down everything one last time, including door handles, light switches
and computers.
When housekeeping comes in at day's end to do the terminal
cleaning, they focus on vertical surfaces and the floors; they don't
touch the equipment. They also run the UV robot after they finish
M A y 2 0 1 8 • O U T PA T I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T • 3 1
Who's Cleaning
What and When?
If you don't clearly
define cleaning duties
for your housekeeping
and nursing staffs,
some surfaces might
get cleaned twice —
and some not at all.
We've got you covered.
Go to outpa-
tientsurgery.net/
forms to download a
cleaning protocols
form and a terminal
cleaning checklist.