Executive Housekeeping Today - December 2008 - (Page 8)

MrSA (continued from page 5) Mississippi, New Hampshire to California, and North Carolina to Washington had to be closed at some point during the school year, as cleaning crews disinfected buses, lockers, restrooms, and classrooms in the response to the threat of a MRSA outbreak. To do away with the method of “hands-on” cleaning, strides have been made in the development and implementation of automatic/ touch-free cleaning systems for daily cleaning applications. Klevens, an epidemiologist for the CDC, and a lead researcher on the study. “This is really a call to action for the healthcare facilities to do a better job of preventing MRSA.” It’s no surprise that the safety of the student body is a top priority at every educational institution—from The Happy Camper Pre-School to The Ohio State University—meaning that these high-profile MRSArelated deaths and outbreaks have drawn much-needed attention to the cleanliness of school facilities, as well as the hygiene of the student body. In fact, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services recently produced a list of measures that should be taken in the battle to control or prevent staph infections: • Keep wounds covered with clean, dry bandages. • Wash hands after touching infected skin or bandages. Put disposable wastes (dressings, bandages, etc.) in a separate trash bag and close the bag tightly before throwing it out with regular garbage. • Advise family and other close contacts to wash their hands frequently. Caregivers should use gloves and wash hands afterward if they change your bandages or touch an infected wound or other objects that have been in contact with the wound or wound drainage. • Do not share personal items (towels, wash cloths, soap, razors, clothing, uniforms, etc.) or other items that may have had contact with an infected wound or wound drainage. • Disinfect all non-clothing (and non-disposable) items that come in contact with an infected wound with a solution of one tablespoon The Challenges According to a study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and reported by The Journal of the American Medical Association in its—ironically—October 2007 issue, hospital visits for staph infections rose by 62 percent between 1999 and 2005. When considering cases of MRSA, CDC research has shown that in 1974, MRSA infections accounted for only 2 percent of the total number of staph infections that were reported. That number increased to 22 percent in 1995, and, by 2004, was up to 63 percent. In the 2007 report that appeared in JAMA, the CDC estimates that 94,360 people in the United States developed a serious, invasive (those that enter the bloodstream or destroy flesh) MRSA infection in 2005 and, of that number, 18,650 died during a hospital stay—more than are killed by AIDS every year in this country. This equates to a rate of 31.8 per 100,000 residents who developed invasive MRSA infections in 2005. While the word most closely associated with staph infections 60 years ago was “eradication,” as the use of antibiotics, like penicillin, became more widespread, many in the medical community are now fearful that another “E” word—“epidemic”— may most accurately describe the current state of staph infections in this country, if not right now, then in the near future. “This is an alarming number of infections and a very significant number of deaths,” says R. Monina household bleach mixed with one quart of water (must be prepared fresh each day) or a store-bought cleaning product that contains phenol, which is a mildly acidic and toxic coal byproduct used as a disinfectant. • Wash linens and clothes that become soiled with hot water and laundry detergent. Drying clothes in a hot dryer, rather than airdrying, also helps kill bacteria in clothes. • Wash utensils and dishes in the usual manner with soap and hot water, or use a standard home dishwasher. • Avoid participating in contact sports and other skin-to-skin contact until an infected wound has completely healed. The Solution Keep educational facilities as clean as possible and the outbreak of potentially-deadly MRSA incidents will be curbed. Sounds like common sense, doesn’t it? It’s in the process of determining the best way to clean an educational facility where the fly enters the ointment. Through the years, traditional methods of sanitation—especially in restrooms—have involved oftenunpleasant “hands-on” cleaning, where the cleaning staff has to get (continued on page 10) 8 Executive Housekeeping Today/December 2008

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Executive Housekeeping Today - December 2008 Contents Executive Corner Microfiber May Impede an Infectious Disease Outbreak Controlling MRSA Outbreaks in Educational Facilities Frugal Housekeeper Restroom Hygiene IEHA Hosts Progressive Integrated Cleaning and Measurement (ICM)™ Symposium Feature Article The Green Scene 2006-2008 EHT Article Index USGBC Tip Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members REH/CEH Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - December 2008

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