Reducing environmental surface contamination in healthcare settings: A statewide collaborative

Area of Science:

• Healthcare quality improvement
• Infection prevention and control
• Environmental hygiene in healthcare settings

Background:

• Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) pose a significant burden on patient safety and healthcare costs.
• Environmental surface contamination is a known reservoir for pathogens contributing to HAIs.
• Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is a common and serious HAI, often linked to inadequate environmental cleaning.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of the Maryland Patient Safety Center's Clean Collaborative in reducing HAIs.
• To assess the impact of enhanced environmental surface cleaning protocols on CDI rates.
• To determine the program's success in achieving a 10% reduction in environmental contamination indicators.

Main Methods:

• The Clean Collaborative supported 24 healthcare facilities (17 acute care hospitals, 3 long-term care, 4 ambulatory surgical centers) in implementing improved environmental cleaning.
• Relative light unit (RLU) measurements were used to assess cleaning efficacy, with a goal of a 10% reduction from baseline.
• CDI rates were tracked for participating and non-participating facilities to compare infection reduction.

Main Results:

• Eighty-eight percent of participating facilities met the program goal, achieving a 10% reduction in RLU measurements.
• Facilities in the Collaborative experienced a 14.2% decrease in CDI rates.
• Non-participating facilities in Maryland showed a smaller decrease in CDI rates (5.9%).

Conclusions:

• The Clean Collaborative effectively improved environmental cleaning practices in diverse healthcare settings.
• Enhanced environmental surface cleaning is a successful strategy for reducing CDI rates.
• Targeted infection prevention initiatives focusing on environmental hygiene can lead to significant reductions in HAIs.