The Importance of Cleaning and Disinfection: High-Touch Surfaces

When a patient leaves a room or is discharged, the room should be cleaned and disinfected to make sure that the next patient is protected from the previous patient’s germs.

Additionally, surfaces and objects that are touched often, such as bed rails, keyboards, and light switches, need to be cleaned and disinfected frequently.

“We call these ‘high-touch surfaces’ and they need more frequent cleaning and disinfection because of all the hands that get on them,” Dr. Carlson said. “We know that if these germs get on our hands, then they can get all over the place, and that can make people sick.”

It’s also important to clean and disinfect things in healthcare that aren’t touched or shared as often but tend to be dirty and have a lot of germs on them, like toilets or a patient’s mattress.

The Importance of Cleaning and Disinfection: Antibiotic Resistance

Cleaning and disinfection in healthcare are also an important part of preventing antibiotic resistant germs.

“A lot of the germs that we’re seeing in healthcare are unfortunately becoming more resistant to antibiotics,” said Dr. Carlson. “That means that if somebody gets sick because of these germs, the antibiotics that we use to treat them, might be less likely to work and less likely to help that person get better.”

Preventing antibiotic resistance through cleaning and disinfection benefits both patients and healthcare workers.

“These outbreaks aren’t just in patients; healthcare workers have gotten sick too,” Dr. Carlson said. “So, we really want to get rid of those antibiotic-resistant germs in our environment.”

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