Monitoring cleaning of surfaces

Abstract

A method for monitoring cleaning of a surface includes applying an amount of transparent indicator material to an area of a surface and measuring the amount of transparent indicator material remaining on the surface. The transparent indicator material may be fixed on the surface by drying and, when a fluorescent material, may be measured through exposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating cleaning within a hospital, the method comprising: applying an amount of transparent indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces within the hospital, the transparent indicator material fluorescing upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation; determining if any of the transparent indicator material remains on the one or more environmental surfaces by exposing the one or more environmental surfaces to UV radiation after one or more opportunities to clean the one or more environmental surfaces by environmental services staff, thereby providing a quality of cleaning result; and training the environmental services staff on cleaning issues, wherein training the environmental services staff includes providing the environmental services staff with information regarding at least one selected from the group consisting of improved cleaning techniques, the quality of cleaning result, a baseline result, and locations of areas to be cleaned.

2. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: comparing the quality of cleaning result with a baseline quality of cleaning result.

3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising: compiling multiple quality of cleaning results for an individual environmental services staff member into a personal feedback report based upon all environmental surfaces cleaned by the individual environmental services staff member.

4. A method according to claim 3 further comprising comparing the personal feedback report with at least one of a baseline quality of cleaning file, a unit specific quality of cleaning file, and other individual's personal feedback report.

5. A method according to claim 3 further comprising providing feedback to the individual environmental services staff member regarding the feedback report.

6. The method according to claim 1, further including providing the environmental services staff with the quality of cleaning result.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: categorizing the one or more environmental surfaces as cleaned or not cleaned based at least in part upon whether the transparent indicator material remains on the one or more environmental surfaces after one or more opportunities to clean the one or more environmental surfaces by the environmental services staff.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: repeating the applying and determining steps after training the environmental services staff, thereby providing an ongoing quality of cleaning result.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more environmental surfaces are high touch surfaces.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: categorizing the amount of transparent indicator material applied to the one or more environmental surfaces as removed or not removed based at least in part upon whether the transparent indicator material remains on the one or more environmental surfaces after one or more opportunities to clean the one or more environmental surfaces by the environmental services staff.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein applying an amount of transparent indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces includes applying the amount of transparent indicator material to at least two environmental surfaces.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein applying an amount of transparent indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces includes applying the amount of transparent indicator material to at least three environmental surfaces.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more environmental surfaces includes at least one selected from the group consisting of a patient call box, a bed rail, an over-bed table, a bedside table, a door handle, a door knob, a door, a call button, a chair, a tray table, a toilet surface, a sink surface, a bedpan, a bedpan flushing device, a telephone, a faucet, a faucet handle, a toilet, a toilet seat, a toilet handle, a grab bar, a push plate, a light switch, and a light switch plate.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more environmental surfaces are within a hospital patient room.

15. The method according to claim 1, wherein the one or more environmental surfaces are within a hospital restroom.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein applying an amount of transparent indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces includes applying transparent indicator material to one or more surfaces in a first hospital room and applying transparent indicator material to one or more surfaces in a second hospital room.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the first hospital room is a patient room and the second hospital room is a restroom.

18. The method according to claim 9 wherein the high touch surfaces include at least one selected from the group consisting of a patient call box, a bed rail, an over-bed table, a bedside table, a door handle, a door knob, a door, a call button, a chair, a tray table, a toilet surface, a sink surface, a bedpan, a bedpan flushing device, a telephone, a faucet, a faucet handle, a toilet, a toilet seat, a toilet handle, a grab bar, a push plate, a light switch, and a light switch plate.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein applying the amount of transparent indicator material includes allowing at least a portion of the applied transparent indicator material to dry.

20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: allowing the amount to transparent indicator material to dry on the one or more environment surfaces prior to determining if any of the transparent indicator remains on the one or more environmental surfaces.

21. A method according to claim 1 wherein the transparent indicator material resists dry abrasion.

22. A method according to claim 1, wherein the transparent indicator material is configured to dry rapidly on the one or more environmental surfaces.

23. A method according to claim 1, wherein the quality of cleaning result includes a percentage of environmental surfaces cleaned.

24. A method according to claim 23, wherein the one or more environmental surfaces are located in one or more areas within a hospital room, the quality of cleaning result including a percentage of environmental surfaces cleaned for each of the one or more areas.

25. A method according to claim 24, wherein the one or more areas includes a patient area and a toilet area.

26. A method according to claim 7, wherein the quality of cleaning result includes a percentage of environmental surfaces categorized as cleaned.

27. A method according to claim 26, wherein the quality of cleaning result further includes a percentage of environmental surfaces categorized as not cleaned.

28. A method according to claim 8, wherein the ongoing quality of cleaning result includes a percentage of environmental surfaces cleaned for each of the repeated applying and determining steps.

29. A method according to claim 8, wherein the ongoing quality of cleaning result includes a percentage of targets cleaned for a given environmental surface.

30. A method according to claim 9, wherein the quality of cleaning result includes a percentage of high touch surfaces cleaned by the environmental services staff.

31. A method according to claim 1, wherein the quality of cleaning results includes a rate of cleaning.

32. A method according to claim 1, wherein the quality of cleaning result is derived from a numerical indication of the quality of cleaning.

33. A method according to claim 20, wherein the transparent indicator material is a non-solid.

34. A method according to claim 33, wherein the transparent indicator material is at least one of a liquid or a gel.

35. A method for evaluating cleaning, the method comprising: applying an amount of transparent indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces, the transparent indicator material fluorescing upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation; allowing at least a portion of the applied transparent indicator material to dry on the one or more environmental surfaces, the transparent indicator material being transparent after drying; determining if any of the transparent indicator material remains on the one or more environmental surfaces by exposing the one or more environmental surfaces to UV radiation after one or more opportunities to clean the one or more environmental surfaces by environmental services staff, thereby providing a quality of cleaning result; and training the environmental services staff on cleaning issues, wherein training the environmental services staff includes providing the environmental services staff with information regarding at least one selected from the group consisting of improved cleaning techniques, the quality of cleaning result, a baseline result, and locations of areas to be cleaned.

36. A method for evaluating cleaning, the method comprising: applying an amount of transparent indicator material to one or more environmental surfaces, the transparent indicator material fluorescing upon exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the transparent indicator material configured to dry on the one or more environmental surfaces, wherein the transparent indicator material is transparent when dry; determining if any of the transparent indicator material remains on the one or more environmental surfaces by exposing the one or more environmental surfaces to UV radiation after one or more opportunities to clean the one or more environmental surfaces by environmental services staff, thereby providing a quality of cleaning result; and training the environmental services staff on cleaning issues, wherein training the environmental services staff includes providing the environmental services staff with information regarding at least one selected from the group consisting of improved cleaning techniques, the quality of cleaning result, a baseline result, and locations of areas to be cleaned.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The foregoing features of the invention will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description, taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 illustrates frequency of contamination of common hospital room locations by three pathogens.

(3) FIG. 2 illustrates the percentage of contamination of hospital surfaces by the pathogens of FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 illustrates survival of pathogens on inanimate surfaces.

(5) FIG. 4 illustrates a microbiologic evaluation of patient room contamination and disinfection.

(6) FIG. 5 illustrates the contents of a typical hospital room.

(7) FIG. 6 illustrates typical locations of targets within a hospital room.

(8) FIG. 7 illustrates a target located on a toilet handle.

(9) FIG. 8 illustrates a dispenser of a composition containing transparent indicator material.

(10) FIG. 9 illustrates a source of ultraviolet radiation.

(11) FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate detection of a transparent indicator material using a source of ultraviolet radiation.

(12) FIG. 11 illustrates a method for pre-intervention data collection.

(13) FIG. 12 illustrates results of monitoring the cleaning activities of three hospitals.

(14) FIG. 13 illustrates results of monitoring of a toilet area of a hospital room.

(15) FIG. 14 illustrates results of monitoring of a patient area of a hospital room.

(16) FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate a method for control of nosocomial pathogens.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

(17) Definitions. As used in this description and the accompanying claims, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated, unless the context otherwise requires:

(18) Terminal cleaning refers to cleaning of a hospital room following departure of its most recent occupant and prior to the arrival of its immediately prospective occupant.

(19) Black light refers to ultraviolet or UV radiation emanating from an ultraviolet source.

(20) Transparent refers to capable of transmitting light so that objects and images beyond can be clearly perceived.

(21) Nosocomial infections are infections arising from and transmitted within a hospital environment.

(22) Cleaning of patient rooms is an ongoing process in a hospital. Each patient occupying a room may be subject to pathogens left by a prior occupant of the room and, in turn, may insert his or her specific pathogens into the room environment. An aim of room cleaning is to decrease the likelihood of the environmental transmission of infection to an occupant of the room. Some room sites are cleaned daily while others are cleaned following patient occupation. Generally, such cleaning is unsupervised. Correlation of the health of room occupants could provide an indication of the quality of the cleaning, although with significant effort and with significant delay.

(23) Embodiments of the invention as discussed below illustrate where monitoring may provide timely assessment as to whether current cleaning activities are consistent with control over nosocomial infections and may have the potential for objectively evaluating cleaning and disinfecting activities in various health care settings. A nontoxic composition containing an indicator material which fluoresces with exposure to a black light is inconspicuous yet may be readily removed by housekeeping products. Small volumes of composition may be confidentially applied to target sites in patient rooms following terminal cleaning and the targets reevaluated following terminal cleaning after several patients have occupied the room.

(24) In an example, evaluation of housekeeping practices at three hospitals have confirmed high rates of cleaning of traditional sites but poor cleaning of many sites which have significant potential for harboring and transmitting microbial pathogens. An integrated program may identify such deficiencies in hospital cleaning and target remediation efforts so as to accelerate reduction in pathogen levels.

(25) FIG. 5 illustrates a typical hospital room 300. Room 300 contains bed 310 in association with bed rails 312, bed tray 314, drape 316, and drape support 318. Patient call box 320 and telephone 322 are located proximal to bed 310 and provide communication, where telephone 322 rests on table 324. Chair 326 provides additional seating. Sink 328 including faucet 330, handles 332, and bedpan flushing device 334 provide a cleansing facility. Toilet 342 containing seat 344 and handle 346 resides in bathroom 340. Grab bar 348 provides support for patient 305 in using the toilet 342. Entry into room 300 and bathroom 340 is through doors 350 and 360 respectively via engagement of handle 352 or push plate 354 for door 350 and of handle 362 or push plate 364 for door 360. Room lights are adjusted by room light switch 370 mounted on room light switch plate 372. Bathroom lights are adjusted by bathroom light switch 374 mounted on bathroom light switch plate 376.

(26) FIG. 6 illustrates targets for monitoring. These targets correspond to areas of a surface and may be chosen on the basis of the recommendation from the CDC that enhanced cleaning activities should be directed at high touch objects (HTOs), as well on reports in the literature of sites reported as being frequently contaminated with hospital associated pathogens. Such targets may include toilet handle target 446, horizontal surface target 443 of toilet bowl 342, bedpan flushing device target 434, horizontal surface target 431 of the sink 328 adjacent to the faucet 330, doorknob or door handle targets 452, 462 [or push/grab plate targets 454, 464], toilet area hand hold target 448 immediately adjacent to the toilet 342, bedside table target 424, telephone receiver target 422, call button target 420, overbed table target 414, seat target 427 of patient chair 326, bedrail target 412 adjacent to the head of the bed 310, drape target 416, room light switch target 470, and bathroom light switch target 474.

(27) To the degree possible, targets may be placed on the object to be monitored in an area which is easily accessible for cleaning and in close proximity to the portion of the object most frequently contaminated by patients' and health care workers' hands. As a consequence of this separation, indicator material placed on the targets is not subject to removal by the actions of the patient during the interval between placement of the indicator and the subsequent examination of the target. In addition, proximity of the targets to areas subject to patient contact makes probable that cleaning of the targets correlates with cleaning of the patient contact areas. For example, FIG. 7 illustrates location of toilet handle target 446 on toilet handle 346 that is separated from, but in the proximity of, region 510, the area most likely to receive patient contact during use and be contaminated.

(28) FIG. 8 illustrates an applicator 600 for controllably applying a composition or targeting solution 610 for monitoring cleaning of a target such as toilet target 446. In FIG. 8, the applicator 600 is a plastic squeeze bottle. The composition 610 may be inconspicuous as by transparency, environmentally stable, and nontoxic, dry rapidly, be readily wetted by spray disinfectants, and be easily removed with light abrasion.

(29) The composition 610 may include a carrier, a transparent indicator soluble in the carrier, a transparent source of adherence to the surface soluble in the carrier, and a surfactant. The carrier may be a biodegradable anionic or nonionic surfactant containing ammonium laureth sulfate, cocamide mea, cocamidopropyl betaine, ammonium laureth sulfate, sodium lauryl sulfate lauramide DEA, glycerine or sodium pareth-23 sulfate. The carrier may, in one embodiment, comprise between 35% and 55% percent of the composition. In one embodiment, the carrier may comprise 45% of the composition. The transparent indicator may be a transparent ink such as Invisible Ink containing fluorescent blue/red water based tracer that is fluorescent under ultraviolet radiation. The transparent indicator, in one embodiment, may comprise between 3% and 5% of the composition. In one embodiment, the transparent ink may comprise 4% of the composition.

(30) The transparent source of adherence may be a natural glue such as methyl cellulose or ethyl cellulose which may be available as powders. The source of adherence may, in one embodiment, comprised between 38% and 58% of the composition. In one embodiment, the source of adherence may comprise 48% of the composition.

(31) The transparent surfactant may be polypropylene glycol with p-tert-octylphenoxy polyethoxyethyl alcohol (such as Photo-Flo). In one embodiment, the transparent surfactant may comprise between 0.5% and 1.5% of the composition. In one embodiment, the transparent surfactant may comprise 1% of the composition.

(32) Prior to cleaning of a room, the composition or targeting solution may be deposited on targets such as those indicated in FIG. 6 and fixed to the surface, as, for example, by being allowed to dry. Since the dried composition does not occupy a location likely to encounter abrasion from daily activities, its removal may be assumed to be the result of cleaning activities. When the dried targeting solution is transparent, those engaged in cleaning activities are unaware of target locations. Consequently, they are not biased to clean areas adjacent to the targets and to avoid non-adjacent areas.

(33) After a single cleaning opportunity or multiple cleaning opportunities are presented, cleaning activities may be suspended. That is, further cleaning in the room may not be permitted until the target areas are scanned. The targets within a room may be then scanned with a device able to render visible the dried composition so as to reveal the extent to which the targets have been subjected to cleaning. A target may be considered to have been cleaned if the dried composition was removed or clearly disturbed. If the composition contains a material fluorescent under exposure to ultraviolet radiation, a UV source 700 as shown in FIG. 9 may be held over the target locations to reveal dried composition not removed during cleaning. FIG. 10A shows the lack of visibility of a telephone receiver target 422 comprising fluorescent material on a telephone receiver 322 prior to cleaning under ordinary room illumination and FIG. 10B shows the visibility of the same target 422 under ultraviolet illumination from UV source 700, also prior to cleaning. If the transparent fluorescent material is Invisible Ink (Blacklight World), then an ultraviolet or UV source such as ULTRA9800 Ultra Mini Portable Black Light (Zigzagalightware) may permit observation of dried composition residues.

(34) A study of hospital cleaning activities employing the above method, materials, and equipment has revealed deficiencies in cleaning.

(35) Two of the hospitals involved in the study had similar demographics. They were both urban primary and secondary care institutions. Hospital A had 136 and hospital B had 115 medical/surgical beds with 15 and 14 bed combined medical/surgical intensive care units. Although the hospitals have geographic proximity, their administrative, clinical and housekeeping staffs are completely independent. Hospital C was a 60 bed acute care short-term rehabilitation hospital.

(36) A targeting solution was used that contained an environmentally stable nontoxic base to which was added a chemical marker as a transparent indicator which fluoresced brightly when exposed to a black light, i.e. ultraviolet light. The targeting solution dried rapidly on surfaces to leave a residue that was inconspicuous, remained environmentally stable for several weeks, resisted dry abrasion, and was easily removed with moisture accompanied by minimal abrasion. Small plastic squeeze bottles were used to dispense approximately 0.2 ml. of solution to standardized target sites.

(37) A group of 12 targets were chosen on the basis of the CDC's recommendation that enhanced cleaning activities should be directed at high touch surfaces [46], as well as sites reported in the previously cited literature as being frequently contaminated with hospital associated pathogens. Such surfaces included toilet handles, the horizontal surface of toilet bowls, bedpan flushing devices, horizontal surface of sinks adjacent to a faucet, doorknobs (or push/grab plates), toilet area hand holds immediately adjacent to the toilet, bedside tables, telephone receivers, call buttons, overbed tables, the seats of patient chairs and frequently contacted areas on bedrails. To the degree possible, the targeting material was placed on the high touch object (HTO) in an area which was easily accessible to cleaning and in close proximity to that portion of the object most frequently contacted by patients' and health care workers' hands.

(38) HTOs were confidentially marked after a room had been terminally cleaned following discharge of its occupant. After two to three patients had occupied the room and the room was again terminally cleaned, a handheld black light was used to determine if the marked HTOs in the room had been cleaned. While the marking material was usually completely removed by routine disinfection cleaning, the object was considered cleaned if the target material was clearly disturbed. Patient room floors and room walls were not evaluated given the limited potential for their serving as a source of transmission of nosocomial pathogens [50]. Statistical data analysis was performed using a two tailed Fisher's exact test.

(39) FIG. 11 illustrates a method 800 for pre-intervention data collection. In step 810, rooms for evaluation are chosen randomly with representation from all medical/surgical (M/S) and intensive care (ICU) patient care units. In step 820, HTOs are confidentially marked after a room had been terminally cleaned following discharge of its occupant. At the time a target is marked, a standardized work card (supplied) is developed noting the date, room location and the HTOs marked. In step 830, after two to three patients have occupied the room and the room is again terminally cleaned on two or three occasions, a handheld black light is used to determine if the marked HTOs in the room have been cleaned. While the marking material is usually completely removed by routine disinfection cleaning, an object may be considered cleaned if the target material is clearly disturbed. In step 840, the work card is dated and completed on the basis of the observations made. In step 850, once between 50 and 60 rooms are evaluated, Unit Specific Summary Sheets (supplied) are developed to facilitate data analysis.

(40) During the study of periods ranging from one to four months, 60, 54 and 43 rooms were evaluated at the three hospitals respectively. Overall 47% of the 1404 HTOs evaluated were found to have been cleaned after several terminal cleanings. As illustrated in FIG. 12, similar rates of cleaning were found in each of the three hospitals. As illustrated in FIG. 13 for toilet areas and FIG. 14 for patient areas, high rates of cleaning, between 80% and 92%, were found for bedside tables, toilet tops, tray tables, and sinks In contrast several HTOs, including bedpan cleaning equipment, patient room and bathroom doorknobs (or door pulls) as well as toilet handholds were cleaned in between 12.3% and 18% of rooms overall. The differences found between well cleaned objected (>80%) and poorly cleaned objects (<20%) in the three hospitals was highly significant (P=<0.001). The remaining objects, although more thoroughly cleaned than the group of poorly cleaned objects, were, as a group, still significantly less well cleaned than the objects cleaned greater than 80% of the time (mean=88.3% vs. 54.5%, P=<0.0001).

(41) Although the CDC 2003 Guidelines for Environmental Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities recommends cleaning and disinfection of high touch surfaces (e.g., doorknobs, bedrails, light switches in and around toilets in patients' rooms) on a more frequent schedule than minimal touch housekeeping services (Environmental Services I, E, 3) [45], the aforementioned hospital results indicate that many of these HTOs were not cleaned as a regular part of terminal room cleaning. In view of the consistently high frequency of cleaning documented for sinks, toilet tops and tray tables, suboptimal cleaning of many HTOs such as bedpan cleaners, toilet area handholds and doorknobs may be the result of lack of appreciation for the potential role the latter objects have in the transmission of nosocomial pathogens rather than ineffective terminal disinfection cleaning in general.

(42) Two of the least well cleaned HTOs, bedpan cleaners (mean 12.3%, range 9% to 20%) and toilet area handholds (mean 17.7%, range 0-50%), represent objects with a high potential for contamination by environmentally resilient gastrointestinal colonizing pathogens such as C. difficile, VRE and MRSA. In view of the effectiveness of disinfectants for a wide range of pathogens including antibiotic resistant bacteria, ineffectiveness of terminal cleaning/disinfection activities in substantially eliminating these pathogens from the near patient environment in other studies may be the result of suboptimal cleaning.

(43) FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate a method for control of nosocomial pathogens using the above technique as facilitated by an integrated program 1100 tailored to a particular health facility such as a hospital. The program involves sequential implementation of a baseline environmental evaluation system (BEES) 1120, a program enhancement system (PES) 1140, and a program comparison system (PCS) 1160. In the BEES 1120, Infection Control Practitioner (ICP) is provided and undertakes an assessment of the effectiveness of terminal cleaning in approximately 40 randomly chosen patient rooms. Members of the health care facility are made aware of the role of near patient environment in infection prevention and of the usefulness of transparent targets. During BEES 1120, site specific demographic data and pre-intervention data are collected and comparisons made within the health care facility or health care institution.

(44) Once the pre-intervention status has been documented in BEES 1120, target monitoring activities are launched in PES 1140. Following an opportunity for administration leadership to comment on the baseline assessment phase, specific training is given to the general facility administration and to the environmental services staff before implementation of targeted cleaning and disinfection. Following evaluation of the initial intervention, structured graphic feedback on the results of the intervention is provided to administrative, environmental, and nursing services.

(45) Next, in PCS 1160, the program is evaluated and feedback given on an ongoing basis, for example, every six months. Part of the feedback involves comparison of the health care facility to other institutions. Recognition may be tended to individuals within the program and to the program itself for favorable comparisons with outside institutions.

(46) Although the above discussion disclosed various exemplary embodiments of the invention, it should be apparent that those skilled in the art can make various modifications that will achieve some of the advantages of the invention without departing from the true scope of the invention.