Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009 - (Page 14)

feature article Hop on the ATP Bandwagon! After flipping through our March “ICM™” issue, you may find yourself wondering what all the commotion is about in regards to Integrated Cleaning and Measurement™ (ICM)™ and the use of ATP devices. In short, the ICM model strives to find best-practices for the cleaning industry, and measuring your department’s cleaning effectiveness using an ATP device is just one way you’ll be able to enhance cleaning procedures for your staff members and implement these best practices. In order to help you better understand ATP usage, we interviewed three IEHA members—Edward Flores; Tim Padgett, REH; and Pat Fragomeni—about their experiences with ATP devices and measurement. Their responses will assist you in answering your questions about the benefits of ATP, how to implement an ATP system in your facility, and how the use of ATP devices will help the cleaning industry as a whole. a by Laura M. DiGiulio, Editor Units) that are on a surface. The higher the RLU count, the more contaminated the surface is; the aim is to get the lowest number possible. As Director of Environmental and Linen Services at Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital, Edward Flores is responsible and accountable for his staff and the success of the department. Their goal is to achieve a clean, safe, healthy environment for patients, families, co-workers, physicians, and the communities they serve. Flores says the ATP system they use has assisted each of their environmental services employees with assessing and measuring cleanliness, which has allowed him to validate the efficacy of their cleaning protocol and the performance of the staff. “We use the device to conduct inspections of patient rooms immediately after they have been cleaned,” says Flores. “This allows us to not only inspect the appearance of the room, but to provide real-time feedback to the housekeepers regarding their performance. By using ATP bioluminescence readings of certain touch points, we are able to give the employee an opportunity to re-clean an area if the readings are higher than our pre-determined level.” Tim Padgett, REH, Director of Environmental Services at Shriner’s Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, is responsible for housekeeping, laundry, safety, security, haz/mat, and transportation at his facility. Currently, his department is working on implementing an ATP system, which will include measurements of direct patient care areas, restrooms, and food service areas. They intend to evaluate their cleaning procedures and whether they are getting different results from various staff members that are using the same procedure. They will then use these results as a training tool to ensure proper procedures are followed. “The use of the ATP device will provide definitive data on cleaning efficiency and effectiveness. It will provide us measurable results as we evaluate various cleaning techniques, equipment, and frequencies of cleaning procedures,” says Padgett. “We intend to incorporate ATP test results into our Quality Control programs and allow those cleaning their respective areas to be involved in the testing process, so they can visually see test re- The Benefits of ATP ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) devices measure the presence of organic contamination that cannot be seen by eye. They measure the amount of RLU’s (Relative Light 14 Executive Housekeeping Today/March 2009

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009 Contents Executive Corner Why Integrated Cleaning and Measurement is Good for the Cleaning Industry Hygienic Green Cleaning - The Next Wave Frugal Housekeeper Integrated Cleaning and Measurement: A New Approach to Housekeeping and Sanitation Feature Article What's in YOUR Janitor Closet? The Green Scene 2009 Convention Information Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside IEHA What IEHA Has Done For Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - March 2009

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