Ecolab Introduces New Hospital Program to Improve Hygiene in Patient Rooms
February 01 2010 - 10:48AM
Business Wire
Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) today announced the launch of its new
EnCompass™ Environmental Hygiene program, a comprehensive clinical
program that helps hospitals improve patient room hygiene and
prevent the spread of infections. The program includes cleaning
tools, products, dispensing equipment, auditing processes and
cleanliness monitoring to help hospitals clean patient rooms more
quickly, consistently and effectively.
“Healthcare organizations recognize the important role that
proper cleaning plays in infection prevention, yet research has
found that on average fewer than half of the high-touch surfaces
are cleaned in patient rooms in most hospitals1,” said Paul B.
Chaffin, vice president of Ecolab Healthcare North America. “Ecolab
developed EnCompass to help healthcare providers improve hygiene
and reduce the environmental transmission of pathogens that cause
infections.”
Clinical research has shown that patients admitted to rooms
previously occupied by individuals infected with
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or
vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) are at greater risk of
acquiring these pathogens, most likely from environmental surfaces
contaminated by the previous patients2,3,4. With the EnCompass
program, Ecolab Healthcare offers hospitals a way to reduce those
risks, including:
- Cleanliness Auditing and Reporting –
Ecolab works with hospital representatives to evaluate whether the
housekeeping staff are cleaning and disinfecting rooms properly by
using a fluorescent gel testing solution that glows under black
light, though not readily visible to the naked eye. This allows
auditors to see which surfaces have been cleaned and help better
train the housekeeping staff.
- Accurate Dispensing, Effective Chemistry and
Efficient Tools – The EnCompass system helps ensure that
appropriate levels of disinfectant are delivered to critical
surfaces. The system uses color-coordinated microfiber cloths and
mops with ergonomic modular cleaning stations, which help separate
clean and dirty items to minimize cross contamination. EnCompass
cleaning products provide clinically-tested concentrated
disinfectants, ready-to-use cleaning solutions, wipes, hard surface
cleaners and odor counteractants.
“Proper cleaning is critically important in preventing the
spread of pathogens, placing environmental services on the
frontline of defense in infection control,” said Phillip C.
Carling, MD, director of infectious diseases and epidemiology at
Caritas Carney Hospital in Boston, a professor at Boston University
School of Medicine and an advisor to Ecolab Healthcare. “The right
tools, education and a systematic approach to cleaning are proven
to reduce environmental contamination which helps prevent
infections5.”
About Ecolab
With sales of $6 billion and more than 26,000 associates, Ecolab
Inc. (NYSE: ECL) is the global leader in cleaning, sanitizing, food
safety and infection prevention products and services. Ecolab
delivers comprehensive programs and services to foodservice, food
and beverage processing, healthcare, and hospitality markets in
more than 160 countries. More news and information is available at
www.ecolab.com.
1 Carling P, Parry MF, Von Beheren SM. Identifying Opportunities
to Enhance Environmental Cleaning in 23 Acute Care Hospitals.
Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2008 Jan;29(1):1-7;18171180.
2 Huang SS, Datta R, Platt R. Risk of acquiring
antibiotic-resistant bacteria from prior room occupants. Arch Int
Med. 2006 Oct 9;166(18):1945-51.
3 Drees M, Snydman DR, Schmid CH et al. Prior environmental
contamination increases the risk of acquisition of
vancomycin-resistant enterococci. Clin Infect Dis. 2008 Mar
1;46(5):678-85.
4 Hardy KJ, Oppenheim BA, Gossain S et al. A study of the
relationship between environmental contamination with
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and patients’
acquisition of MRSA. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2006
Feb;27(2):127-32.
5 Carling PC, Briggs JL, Perkins J, Highlander D. Improved
cleaning of patient rooms using a new targeting method. Clin Infect
Dis. 2006 Feb 1;42(3):385-8.
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