Healthcare Traveler - October 2008 - (Page 54) Travel Tips HELPFUL HINTS AND RESOURCES Cleanliness at home and on the road Whether you’re checking into a hotel room for the weekend, settling into temporary housing for a traveling healthcare assignment, or returning to your permanent home between contracts, consider implementing sanitary practices to ensure your well-being—and that of your family and neighbors. Jennifer Samuels or you and other healthcare travelers across the country, relocating to a new city for 13 weeks—or longer—involves packing your belongings, familiarizing yourself with an adopted community, and personalizing your new living space. It may even mean staying at a hotel en route to your destination or on a roadtrip during your time off. Wherever your travels take you, cleanliness is essential to your health, and maintaining sanitary living conditions is a priority. Recent news reports and lawsuits have highlighted the increasing prevalence of bed bugs and have evaluated the cleanliness of hotels, college dormitories, and communal living complexes. To ensure your surroundings are as sanitary as possible, follow these few simple steps. F Preparing to travel Before you embark on your travel assignment, ask your recruiter about the company-provided accommodations, including furniture, linens, and housewares, as well as the complex’s reputation. (For more information on ensuring housing meets your needs, read our “Company Corner” department on pages 12 and 14.) If you check into a hotel, choose a national chain. Well-known brands are more likely to be concerned about their reputations and often take formal steps to ensure the cleanliness of rooms and amenities. Also, consider a smaller property, as housekeepers may more thoroughly sanitize lodges with fewer rooms. Visit websites—like www.tripadvisor. com or www.travelocity.com—that evaluate hotels by cleanliness, among other categories, and read what your fellow travelers are saying. Call ahead and ask the front desk if they offer wrapped, disposable cups or actual glasses that should be sterilized, not simply rinsed, after use. Find out if the establishment uses duvet covers on bedding and how often they clean their bedspreads. While all hotels launder and change bed linens after each guest checks out, bedspreads are too expensive to wash frequently. Another tip: Pack a clean mug, a clean blanket, and travel-size antibacterial solution. Photo: Getty Images/UpperCut Images Inspect first Upon arrival at your hotel or apartment complex, tour the common areas. The cleanliness of pools, fitness rooms, and restaurants tends to indicate that of the property as a whole. Similarly, when you enter your new hotel room or assignment housing, perform a quick inspection to determine if bed bugs or fleas are present before you bring your luggage and belongings into the building. First, examine the bedding. Pull the bedspread all the way off, and peel Travel Resources Travel Tips Dot.com Big Deals Tax Facts 54 Healthcare Traveler October 2008 54 56 58 59 back the sheets. If you brought your own blanket, place the bedspread in a trash bag and secure it out of sight. Scan for small black stains and blood spots, which indicate the presence of bed bugs. Nocturnal feeders, these tiny, thin, oval, wingless, reddish-brown insects are difficult to see during the daytime when they hide in cracks and crevices. In petfriendly accommodations, look under the mattress and box springs for fleas, and even check behind the headboard. Once you confirm the cleanliness of your bedding, move on to inspect floorboards, furniture, walls, windowsills, and loose wallpaper. Check the alarm clock and behind picture frames, too. To complete your inspection, examine drawers, the bathroom, and under the bed. If you feel your housing is not up to par, consult your recruiter immediately. In a hotel environment, call housekeeping and give them time to attend to the problem, or request to move rooms. Keeping it clean Use antibacterial solution to wipe the telephone, door handles, bathroom fixtures, faucet handles, ice bucket, light switches, and remote control. Frequently www.healthcaretraveler.com http://www.tripadvisor.com http://www.travelocity.com http://www.tripadvisor.com http://www.healthcaretraveler.com
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