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As a follow-up to a health update entitled HAN 00382 and distributed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on September 11, 2015, the CDC and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are providing this update to rescind the following recommendation.

As more and more research unfolds regarding preventing hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), it is very apparent that cleanliness is as critical to a hospital’s successful operation as any clinical function that takes place within the health care institution.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is estimated that one out of every 25 hospitalized patients will contract a health-care-associated infection (HAI). Each year HAIs are a documented source of increased mortality and morbidity, significant costs for care delivery, and have a negative impact on the patient experience.

Two very important updates regarding CRE and Shigella sonnei outbreak investigations.

The Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) announces a new certification that will set performance and knowledge criteria for environmental services technicians and provide the means to ensure frontline employees are thoroughly prepared for service in healthcare.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released updated Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Hospitalized Patients with Known or Suspected Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever in U.S. Hospitals. Standard, contact, and droplet precautions are recommended for any patients with known or suspected Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Laundry processing of health care linens has experienced a significant shift. From the management of self-operated onsite laundry operations to the use of outsourced external central laundries, hospitals are evaluating the cost efficiencies of both in-house and outsourced processes. To do this, they must weigh the value of each while keeping the balance of effective textile care processing as the key fulcrum point in making their decision.

Each year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that over 722,000 hospitalized patients contract a healthcare associated infection (HAI), resulting in over 75,000 deaths. In September 2013, the CDC released new evidence of emergent antimicrobial resistance threats and categorized them into categories of urgency.

In a time of great change for health care – particularly in EVS – we need to stay one step ahead by knowing the answers to the questions we’ll be asked, understanding how to track and maintain productivity and efficiencies all while providing the best atmosphere and experience for our patients, visitors and staff. Utilizing technology to leverage and maximize staff time and skills sets will help.

Part one of this two-part article provided an overview of Legionnaires’ disease, the source of the bacterium in hospital water systems and aerosol vectors of infection. Part two focuses on the important role that a multidiscipline team plays in managing the legionellosis risk.

Fabrics play an important role in the transmission of bacteria. They have been proven to act as “fomites” – or where organisms can grow and multiply. And, even though soft surfaces constitute a significant portion of the patient’s immediate environment, they are often overlooked in everyday environmental hygiene practices.

EXPLORE spoke with Brian Tallmadge, CHESP, assistant chief, Environmental Management Services, at Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston, S.C., about the latest technologies available for EVS professionals.

Given that an HAI can cost a facility up to $45,000, a more comprehensive approach to surface disinfection may be necessary. The adoption of UV surface treatment technology may be a cost-effective intervention.

Part one of this two-part article provides an overview of Legionnaires’ disease, the source of the bacterium in hospital water systems and aerosol vectors of infection. Part two will focus on the important role that a multidiscipline team plays in managing the legionellosis risk.

Preventable healthcare-associated infections (pHAIs) are still a major challenge in this country’s healthcare facilities. An aggressive intervention initiative is needed to address this problem as rapidly and completely as possible. Further, there’s never been a stronger and more well-defined need for the role of Environmental Services (EVS) as the First Line of Defense in this initiative. And there are successes that bear this out.

Good isn’t good enough anymore. In today’s competitive healthcare environment, excellence will be the expectation not the exception. From meeting HCAHPS (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems) standards for room cleanliness and quietness to lowering operating expenses as part of a Lean initiative, environmental services departments are facing significant challenges.

EXPLORE spoke with Candace Thompson, CHESP, and Lea Beach, CHESP, about infection control, their department’s working relationships with Infection Preventionists (IPs), the latest challenges, how they empower their staff, and best practices for hand-washing and PPE compliance.

Kelly A. Reynolds, PhD, presents on the 2013 trends in environmental hygiene, including magnitude of HAIs, primary pathogens, fomite contamination, pathogen tracking, mitigation strategies, and new UA research on soft surface sanitizer efficacy.

To AHE members at the EXCHANGE 2012 conference, Laurie Leon, director of materials management at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, highlighted that 90 percent of hospitals could not readily pull together cost and weight data for their waste streams. This reality can lead to financial pressure.

The OSHA Hazard Communication (HazCom) Standard has been significantly revised for the first time since it came about in the 1980s. Those changes in the “Right-to-Know” Standard, as HazCom is commonly called, have brought in the use of the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) to identify and communicate chemical hazards.